Malaysia: Langkawi and KL

1/28-2/11

It was at this point in our trip that we started to get a little tired, as we'd been bouncing from place to place for about three weeks. We decided to take a break from doing anything overly adventurous and/or educational. Cori knew of a popular tourist destination in the northwest part of the country, the island of Langkawi, and it sounded good to me, so we booked train tickets. Problem is, there's no direct transportation from Taman Negara in the northeast (where we were) and Langkawi. That would've been too easy. What I didn't know about Malaysia was that pretty much everything goes through Kuala Lumpur. Because of this, we had to take a boat ride back down the river and take the bus all the way back south to KL. From the bus, we hopped the KL metro to the train station, ate some Subway, and got on an overnight train to Langkawi. The train took about 12 hours, but luckily I was in a sleeper car. Drowsy and disoriented, we arrived in a port city early the next morning.

Getting to our guest house on the island proved to be a little challenging. We found a taxi to take us to the jetty, splitting the fare with a young Chinese couple, as I remember. Among other things, China happens to produce a lot of young couples. Anyway, we found our way onto a small ferry and gave them cash without the hassle of buying any tickets, so I'm still confused as to the legitimacy of the whole thing. Another taxi took us across the island, and we settled into the guest house, far from the main city. It was a sleepy part of the world, just what we were looking for. The place was nice enough, sort of a loose collection of shelters and shacks among gravel pathways, and our room ended up being a lot more clean and comfortable than it appeared from the outside. The open-air kitchen shared by all the guests was right next to our door, so that was a plus. The lounge had a case of cold beverages and a sign explaining that we were on the honor system when it came to paying for them. The paths usually had dogs lying around because it was too hot to do anything else. It was all just as laid-back as we were hoping for. The picture below isn't where we stayed; I just thought it was funny.

One of the first things we did, at Cori's behest, was to find the beach. I was happy to go, since it was a lot of the reason for being there, after all. We found a nice strip of sand just down the road from us, and I plopped down in the shade with a book and a beer, kind of like what you'd see in a Corona commercial. Of course, it was hot and sandy, so I didn't last long. But the important thing is that I was there. The next week or so was a blur of books and walks and playing cards and Indian food. Now, I'm not normally a fan, but the area had some damn good Indian food, and we ate it a lot. That plus Malaysian, which was similar. I don't think there's much else I can say about our time on the island, just that it was lazy, and there wasn't much to do. I finally finished One Hundred Years of Solitude, which is a really good book, especially in warm weather.

We caught a cab into town a couple of times--first to buy bus and ferry tickets, and then to take the ferry back to the peninsula. Once we got on the mainland, we had a couple of hours to kill, so we went to the nearby KFC, threw our giant backpacks down, and got some nuggets. It was a good time. We took an overnight coach bus, since we couldn't find anyone who was selling train tickets, and it worked out pretty well. The bus put us in KL at about 4 or 5 in the morning. We had a hell of a time finding the hostel we'd booked, since all the streets kind of wind around everywhere, and the place was through a nondescript door and up a couple flights. It was a place to lay our heads for a few days, if we could wake up the owner and get him to unlock the gate. Once through, we got to our room, which faced what felt like the noisiest street in the whole city, since one of the windows was missing its glass. No matter. We collapsed on the beds and tried for a few hours of solid sleep.

Somewhere around lunchtime, Cori and I got up to go to the airport. Steven, one of the other teachers, was coming to Kuala Lumpur from Australia, and we were going to pick him up. After spending a little time back in Chicago, then Australia and New Zealand, he had decided to meet up with us on his way back to China. I wouldn't have minded adding those stops to the itinerary, but I think I did just fine as it was. Anyway, we were happy to meet up with him and catch up a little. Later, we had dinner at our new favorite restaurant, Chili's, and I got myself a couple of pints of Kilkenny, a really good ale that isn't sold in the US. There was a bookstore nearby that rivaled even the likes of Borders, so we spent some time in there, as well. That kind of thing just doesn't exist where we live. Then we went to see Underworld 3, a movie so utterly ridiculous that I was glad of those pints I'd had beforehand.

The next day we visited the Batu Caves on a tip from the people at the hostel. The three of us were only hanging around a few days before heading back to Wuhan, but we had unwittingly come back to KL during a large Hindu festival. The city, besides boasting a huge Chinese population, is also home to a large number of Indians. So popular is the festival of "Thaipusam" and its annual pilgrimage site, that all we had to do was walk down the street for a few seconds before a bus came rolling by with cries of "Batu Caves! Batu Caves! Batu Caves!" So we hopped on. What we didn't know was that it's normally one of the largest gatherings in the world. It was a little crowded, yes, but eventually we got up the couple hundred steps and into the caves. Kind of a crazy place, unless you're Hindu. Then it might make a little more sense. Or at least that's my hope. It was especially hot that day, and I was anxious to get out of the sun and away from all the pilgrims with their heads painted gold. We hopped a bus back to the city, got some Chinese for dinner, and made another trip to the Beatles Bar. I mean, how could we not take Steven, knowing he'd either really enjoy it, or be thoroughly creeped out by it?

The next day brought us probably the last major event of the trip: the swanky hotel (not pictured). My father, in his infinite generosity, had offered to help us out with our accommodations, and I decided to take him up on it. We hadn't been living on the streets or anything close to it, but I was, after all, in need of a good shower. It was a Western-style right there in Chinatown, a definite upgrade, and it had an amazing shower. That night we hung around the Petronas Towers, managing almost to get locked inside, and the next day we hit the Central Market and the National Museum. Our last day there, and I think we spent it right, absorbing some local culture and whatnot. Luckily, we were able to get on the same flight out. It was an early one, 'round 6 or 6:30, as I recall. Brutal. But we made it into Shenzhen just fine, and Wuhan from there.

I was gone exactly five weeks in all--a long time to be trudging around backwater countries--and it felt good to be home. Felt good to get some rest. Making it up as you go really takes a lot out of you. But looking back on it now, I honestly don't think I could've planned a better trip if I'd tried.

Follow the link and click on "Malaysia" for more KL and Langkawi pictures. Click on "Me" and scroll all the way down for a few me pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kevin.wender

Malaysia: Taman Negara

1/25-1/28

We had planned on staying in KL for only a few days before doing more traveling, but the train ticket to our island destination was harder to come by than we'd anticipated. See, this was right around the Chinese New Year, when everyone is traveling, so the next available train was about a week away. We didn't want to spend all that time sweating in KL, so we decided we'd switch it up and sweat in the jungle. We found a travel agency with a decent package--a two-day deal--and early on a Sunday morning, we hopped a bus to Taman Negara National Forest.

The bus, moving at unexpectedly high speeds, got us to Kuala Tembeling in a few short hours. We hopped off, grabbed some lunch, and headed down to the jetty, where we waited for our boat. Turns out the best way to head into Taman Negara is by boat. I tossed my backpack full of worldly possessions into the covered canoe, and its outboard motor sent us on our way up river. Though most of me was shielded from direct sunlight, my right arm was not. The ensuing sunburn is the reason I'm wearing long-sleeve shirts in most of the pictures. That, and the mosquitoes. After a couple of hours, we got to our hostel, nestled among fine, expensive-looking wooden bungalows. We had dinner on the other side of the river, since all of the half-dozen or so restaurants sat across the water from our hostel and the jungle entrances, and we had to be ferried across every time we wanted to eat or sign up for an activity. That first night we went on a jungle walk, and with our flashlights we managed to see a couple of insects and a frog. It was a little anti-climactic.

The next day brought more excitement as we set out on our canopy walk. The park boasts the world's longest system of suspended walkways, or something like that. It basically consists of long, narrow planks held up by ropes tied to the trees, and joined by a series of platforms that feel like tree-houses. It's suspended about 30 or 40 meters above the jungle floor, but there are so many trees and ropes reinforcing it that you never feel like you're going to fall. It helps that they only allow three or four people on each segment at one time. Plus, you're only allowed to take photos from the platforms, never from the planks. It was pretty cool, but once again, we failed to see any wildlife. Not too surprising, when you think about it, but still. Our tour guide bet a fish that we wouldn't see any birds, monkeys, or squirrels, and he was right. We did spend time with some people we'd seen on the bus, though--a group of foreigners whom Cori and I referred to as the "super-friends." They were all from different countries, and they really liked hanging out with each other, as if they'd been pulled from a poster or after-school special.

When we were done with the canopy and the hiking up and down the mountain, we were exhausted and dirty, but I still had enough energy left to climb far up a vine that the tour guide showed us. I don't think he expected me to get more than a foot off the ground, so it was a proud moment for me. I really needed a rest after that and took my ease back at the hostel before dinner. I don't remember where we ate, but all of the places were the same--large floating rafts with roofs on the bank of the river, nothing but generic Asian food being served inside. It's not a big operation they've got going, but they seem to do okay. At one of the restaurants we checked in with a guy from the tour company and paid the extra money to go on the "night safari." This began with a bunch of us being loaded into a pickup truck on the beach. Then we were driven up the road a ways before turning into the actual jungle-looking area. Squeezed into the bed of the truck, I only saw a few small creatures that night, mostly cats. But we did might a nice young Swedish boy who we found out was deathly afraid of spiders.

The highlight of this nighttime adventure had to be the stars. As we went out of the jungle and back down the road, there were literally thousands of stars visible in the sky, way more than you would ever see in Chicago, and the complete opposite of what you see in China. For the first time, Cori and I were actually able to pick out constellations, though we'd forgotten many of the names. I looked up till my neck wouldn't let me. It was easily one of the best parts of the trip, and definitely better than anything we'd seen down on the ground.

The last day in Taman Negara was a bonus, since we had only planned on two days, but decided to stay for three. I took a final shower in the hostel, the coldest of my life, and moved into a chalet across the river. Don't let the name fool you. It was a box with bunkbeds, but at least it had its own bathroom. We then grabbed lunch at the Mama Chop Cafe, where Mama Chop herself gave us some menus and then explained that she had none of what was on them. While she cooked what she had, we played with one of her children. He was a cute kid, so I was okay with it. Soon, we were off to the rapids (the mildly choppy part of the river). We piled in a boat, and the boatman did everything in his power to get us soaked. He had a great time of it. I had river water coming out my shoes. When we landed, we were introduced to the native villagers, the Orang Asli tribe. They're also referred to as "negritoes," because they're small and black. They showed us how to make fire in a few seconds, and they even let me try out their giant blowpipe that they use to hunt monkeys. It was pretty cool. They promised I would get married if I hit the target, and I did, but I'm still waiting on my tribal bride.

Well, that's what I did in the jungle. It was a busy few days, really fascinating. And though we were on our way to an island next, we had to go back to KL first. I'll explain that later. Now, more pictures.

http://picasaweb.google.com/kevin.wender/TamanNegara

Malaysia: Part I

Capital: Kuala Lumpur

Currency: Ringgit ($1 = about 3.5 Ringgits, also known to us as "ringdings" or "dingdongs")

Language: Malay

Attraction: Towers

We spent the bulk of our break in various places around Malaysia, so I'll have to split up this last leg of the journey into its constituent parts.

1/20-1/25

I had one prevailing thought as I walked out of the LCCT (Low-Cost Carrier Terminal) of Kuala Lumpur International Airport: Malaysia = hot. Even in January. Cori and I searched for a way to get to our hostel, far off in the Chinatown district of the city proper (where we would feel right at home). Cori had been there before, so I was happy to let her take the lead on transportation. She managed to find us the right bus for the right price, and she even got us from the drop-off point to the front door with fairly little effort. We then found our way to the rear cell-block of the facility, located just steps from the common outhouse/showers. The place was downright swampy. Our room was pretty much a walk-in humidor, probably had more room between the floor and ceiling than between any two walls, and the only thing the fan did was blow hot air at us. If the beds gave us the feeling of being POWs in a hospital somewhere in the former Soviet Bloc, the solitary light bulb and outdoor light switches really drove it home. The front gate also closed every night at midnight, which was frustrating.

I'll run through some of the things we did in those early days. The first order of business was finding food, so we went down the street to the local A&W. I know, I was just as surprised as you are. But that's not all. Just across from that was a Kenny Rogers Roasters, which is so random that you know it has to be true. Later, we took the subway (nice, very convenient) to the Petronas Towers, the "tallest towers in the world" and the newest main attraction in town. They're pretty incredible, seeing as how they have a giant shopping mall, movie theatre, and concert hall under all of that office space. We went to the Chili's. You might say it was a day for gorging. The restaurant itself is amazing--it looks like they just packed up one of the American branches and shipped it off to Asia. It's all the same, right down to the kitschy tiles on the tables, and though I would've improved upon the decor a bit, I do have to give them points for consistency.

There was a pretty nice 24-hour Internet cafe in Chinatown, and we went there whenever we had time to kill or needed to get cool. It was right around this time that Obama's inauguration was about to happen, so we spent the night on the computer, since we were locked out after midnight anyway. Long story short, we screwed up the times and missed the live feed, but at least we gave it a shot. The place was also good for booking rooms and looking into transportation for the remainder of our trip. That, and there was a 7-11 right next door.

The city was big, but what struck me most was how international it felt. Everywhere I looked, I saw banks and huge office buildings and people from all different backgrounds. It was hot, dirty, loud, and it felt like a real city. Except for the left-side driving. That always takes some getting used to. We definitely got around, passing through KL Sentral (the main transit hub) on our way to places like the planetarium (under construction), the orchid park, the covered bird park (largest in the world) and the mysterious Bangsar Shopping Center--the damn phantom mall that we never did find. We did see some monkeys, though, so that was pretty cool.


When we went back to the towers a couple of days later, we got there early to take the tour up to the connecting Sky Bridge, and then we went right back down. They don't let you go any higher, but the bridge gave us a good enough view of KL. I was able to snap a couple of decent pictures. I believe that was also the same day I bought a new pair of shorts from the Gap. My old pair had taken a hell of a beating in Cambodia, so I was desperately in need. Other events of the day included a stop at a souvenir shop and some light reading in the area atop our hostel dubiously designated as the "Roof Garden." The next night, after working up a bit of a thirst, we wandered into a stairwell leading to "The Beatles Bar," which naturally seemed intriguing in concept, but was a little more shady in execution. The whole velvety hookah lounge thing was a clear sign of its ties to the nearby Reggae Bar (and who knows what else), but I was able to get a beer and some Beatles tunes, so I can't complain.

I spent those few days trying to get a feel for the city, for the people, and I had a really good time, minus the mosquitoes. I never really felt on display, on the defensive, or like I didn't belong. It's the kind of place where some people visit and just end up staying. Sure, I was leaving after only five days, but I would go back, and things would certainly get interesting in between.

Next up: the jungle.

I was doomed from the moment I used the phrase, "rapid succession." Unfortunately, blogging has taken a backseat as of late, especially since I've been fighting off a bad cold for at least the past week. Seems like they take longer to dissipate in China. Anyway, I'll have all sorts of stuff to write about very soon, but for now, I have to go to Beijing to meet my father and make sure he doesn't get lost in a foreign country. I will also try not to get lost. Back in a few days.

Kevin

Cambodia: Angkor Wat

So, this is getting a little silly. I've been back for over a month, and I haven't finished these posts. It's been busy around here, but probably not too busy to wrap this up. The last few should come in rapid succession.

1/16-1/20

Our trip back into Cambodia began one of the more fascinating legs of the tour 'round SE Asia. It was another early morning bus ride, this one taking about 13 hours in total, and there were several stops along the way. One of which was for border control, where we had to pay another $20 to get into the country, since our previous visas were only single-entry and at that point invalid. Another harsh lesson in Cambodia's bureaucratic avarice. Along the way, we got to see a lot of the countryside, mostly made up of small wooden houses on stilts and children selling fruit by the roadside. We got into Siem Reap pretty late at night, exhausted, and ready to throw our stuff down. The bus company hooked us up with a tuk tuk driver free of charge, but they gave us the winking and nudging "maybe you could use our driver for a tour of the temples." The first place we tried was all booked up, and the second was pretty full, but they did manage to find us a room on the fifth floor with no air-conditioning or curtains. It was only $6 a night, so we happily took it.


With its requisite and blatant allusion to the historical site, the "King Angkor" Hotel proved to be more than suitable, having an attached outdoor restaurant and a massage parlor. I did not partake of the latter, but it was nice to know the option was there. After dropping us off, the driver immediately dropped the question, "So you want to go to the temples tomorrow?" The last thing we wanted to do at that moment was commit to a driver and itinerary for the weekend, and we were definitely in no mood to bargain. But he was rather insistent. So we told him we'd do a one-day tour for $20. He showed up early the next morning, and we were on our way.



Angkor Wat is just one of many ancient temples outside the city, but it's definitely the most impressive. They're spread out over a large area about 4 miles away, so most people rent bikes or take a tuk tuk. You can't possibly see all of it in one day. We bought a three-day pass for $40, I think. When you first get there, you have to take a land bridge across a large lake, and then a long stone path to the temple itself. The ancient Khmer kings really had a flare for the dramatic. On the way in, there were monkeys, a couple of elephants, and a whole lot of swarming children selling stuff I didn't need: postcards, bracelets, flutes, bottles of water--those were actually pretty useful, since it gets remarkably hot in the winter months. I imagine the height of summer to be one of the lower circles of hell. Approaching Angkor Wat, we could see some of the scaffolding where the restoration/preservation work is being done, as well as some of the monks who still inhabit the place. I believe they were Buddhist. Several times I was offered some incense as a form of worship, only to be hit up for a donation shortly after.



We made our way from one temple to the next, and each time our driver gave us an hour or two to wander and take pictures. A lot of the original carvings are still visible, which was nice. The endless corridors and staircases proved to be photogenic, as well. I'll let the online gallery paint the picture for you. We had a map that was sort of helping us through, and at one point we even had a surprise tour guide. He jumped out at us and starting spouting information about one of the facades, and we tried dodging him, but it was no use. When he was finished, I gave him some riel, and when that didn't satisfy him, he was content to relieve me of my can of Coke.



We concluded our tour with a climb up one of the taller temples. We reached the top as the sun was getting close to the horizon, and it was one hell of a view. Pretty peaceful, too, until everyone else started showing up. We even recognized a few people from our bus ride the day before. The summit was soon awash with cameras and cell phones, one of them playing a vaguely familiar Chinese pop ballad, but the sunset was still really cool. When we got back to the hotel, we were sweaty and dirty and determined to let our driver dowm easy. We had said all along that we wanted one day of service, since we had planned to walk or bike after that, but he wasn't convinced. Asking us if we thought he overcharged, he looked as if we had just thrown his dog out of a speeding tuk tuk. We did our best to be reassuring and eventually just said goodnight.



We spent the next day resting, taking in the city, walking down by the river, that sort of thing. We found another market and made a couple of snack runs to the gas station. I'm still amazed at how plentiful things like Pepperidge Farm and Dr. Pepper were, given their extreme scarcity in China. I'm told it's all about supply chains and whatnot, but it seemed really random at the time. I didn't take pictures of the city, since there really wasn't much to see. The dusty, two-story town seems to have been built ad hoc, serving the millions of tourists that pass through year-round. We had a nice chat with one of those millions, an Englishman who had made a long career out of teaching overseas. A bit of an odd guy, but most foreign teachers are.



Definitely one of the coolest parts of the whole trip came the next morning. I managed to convince Cori that it was a good idea to walk to Angkor Wat in time for sunrise, so we set out on foot at about 3:30 in the morning. The road is well-lit most of the way, with the final stretch being well-traveled, so I felt plenty safe. Once we got close enough, the road became nearly pitch-black, and we were very careful not to get hit by a passing motorist. You could say the only danger came from within, as Cori lost track of the rood and went down in a heap on the dirt. She wasn't badly injured. There was a little moonlight, and the sky was so clear that it actually had recognizable constellations. That was certainly a highlight. Sunrise was tired, but it was really cool to see the temple in all its silhouetted glory. Once again, we were joined by a couple hundred of our closest photographer friends, but there was plenty of room for all.

We got back to the hotel and took a nice, long nap as other guests looked on. I mentioned earlier that there were no curtains, and the only window happened to face the stairs, so everyone on the fifth floor must've gotten a free show at some point. We didn't really mind; some of the other guests thought it was pretty funny. Later, we had some Mexican food, which was exciting, and we took off the next morning. We had arranged a tuk tuk to the airport, but they upgraded us to a car for a little more money. And if that wasn't enough, we were not allowed into the gate area until we had paid the $25 service fee. Apparently, no one is allowed to fly out of Cambodia until they've paid the fee. Which is bull$#@%.

Next stop: Kuala Lumpur. Now, click for pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/kevin.wender/AngkorWat

Tibetan Uprising

Thought I'd take a quick break from my travelogue to highlight the significance of the day, March 14, the one-year anniversary of the uprising in Tibet, itself a marking of the now fifty-year anniversary of a rebellion against communist rule. I don't exactly know what to make of it, since I don't have much experience with the region (I do hope to visit someday), and I believe people on both sides of the Tibet issue tend to paint an inaccurate picture of life there. Ask the Chinese government, and they'll say something to the effect of "Tibetans now enjoy a beautiful and harmonious existence." Ask a human rights watchdog group, and they'll say that life there is hell on earth. Of course, it's really somewhere in between. But in any case, I thought I'd provide a couple of links, just in case you weren't up on recent developments.

UPDATE: This pretty well sums it up:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/weekinreview/15WONG.html?hp

A timeline of the past year:
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSPEK80094

Living on a campus in Wuhan, far from the Tibet Autonomous Region, I don't really feel any of the effects, nor do I see any of the demonstrations. Maybe the only manifestation of the central government's alleged oppression that I've experienced firsthand was the blocking of YouTube for a brief period. It's not uncommon for certain "incendiary" websites to be blocked, and a lot of times they're ones you wouldn't expect (like images of tornadoes, for example), but this time they were really out to prevent any kind of incitement to violence, or incriminating evidence, or free self-expression, or whatever you want to insert here. Believe what you want, but I'm trying to reserve judgment until after I actually go there. That is, when it's not closed to foreigners.

Vietnam

Capital: Hanoi
Currency: Dong ($1 = 16,000 VND)

Language: Vietnamese

Drink Specials: Iced Coffee

1/13-1/16

The simplest way to get to Vietnam is by bus, so that's what we did. We booked bus tickets through the guest house in Phnom Penh, and we were able to get our travel visas in advance, at a cost of at least $30. I forget whether or not you can get them at the border. It's probably all a question of how much you want to pay. Anyway, we caught the early bus--7 am, if I remember correctly--which meant that we had to get up much earlier in order to check out and catch the shuttle. The trip to Ho Chi Minh City was, without a doubt, the bumpiest ride I've ever been on. Once you get outside the city, paved roads are nowhere to be found. The constant up-and-down, combined with the heaping plate of greasy German food I had eaten the night before, made sure that the journey was not a pleasant one. I guess I should learn to stick with Asian food. Fortunately, I made it to the border okay, and we were let off for food and processing.

The restaurant we stopped at seemed to have a pretty sweet deal going, since there were several other buses there, and I had the pleasure of stopping again on my way out of Vietnam. It was there that I tried to exchange US dollars for Vietnamese dong, but the guy gave me riel by mistake, which was useless to me. Later, I tried to exchange the riel, and the old woman I was dealing with gave me far less dong than she should've. I began to argue the point with her, but as this was happening, I was being herded back onto the bus by the driver, and there was nothing I could do to stop from getting screwed. I probably gave her about $15 worth, and I think she ended up stealing at least $10 of it, which was a lot of money to me. Doesn't matter how much you try not to get hosed; it's bound to happen sometime.

I'm sure you're wondering what Ho Chi Minh City (also still called Saigon) is like. Well, I'll tell you. It was very nice. The weather was pleasantly warm, and the city felt like a real city. There were buildings taller than a few stories, there were parks and promenades to walk through, and we weren't hassled every second by motorcycle chauffeurs. We did get our fair share of offers, this time from bikers and rickshaw drivers. Still, we chose to walk. I did marvel at the constant flow of motorbikes pulsing through the intersections, and I think I can say they even had China beat in terms of sheer volume. A lot of foreigners around, which made me think the city was worth visiting. We really had no plan, after all, our only thought was "Let's hop over to Vietnam and see what's goin' on."

We found a lot of cool places--a couple palaces, cathedrals, bookstores, and a pub, to name a few. We spent a lot of our time in the back streets, where all the best restaurants and shops can be found. A lot of these stores sell similar items, such as Vietnam t-shirts, but the fun is all in negotiating the price. Usually, you can knock a few thousand dong off the top. From the shops you can walk right into a pizza place or grab a kebob along the way. One thing I didn't know about the country is that it has great coffee, which is something China is definitely not known for. It's best with milk and ice, and every now and then, you have to stray from the usual bold and black. Around dinnertime, you can avail yourself of one of the many roving masseurs. They're the ones riding around on bikes with metal clackers, massaging people right in their chairs when they're done eating. This costs about 20,000 to 30,000 VND, and dinner was usually about 80,000 to 100,000, which sounds like a lot but isn't. Thankfully, the menus were in English, and people know enough of the language to be able to take your order. It's a shame more people weren't fluent, since Vietnamese isn't exactly easy on the ears, but that's asking a lot.

Trying to find a place to stay was fun. We got off the bus and started checking prices. Many of these hotels have narrow fronts, with the lobby on the second floor and a travel agency on the first. A pretty convenient design, if you're just passing through. At one hotel, they said rooms were $35; we said we could pay $10. They said, "I think we have a room for you." As you'll see from the pictures, we had to crouch when entering the room and bathroom, and we could touch the floor, ceiling, and opposite walls all at once. But despite this, or maybe because of this, it was my favorite of the trip. It also had a TV, fridge, fans, and hot shower. I can't remember if we paid for it in dollars, but most places only took dong. I even had trouble exchanging my Chinese yuan, which is absurd, given the size of China's economy, but with all the lingering animosity between countries, it's not surprising.

We spent most of our days just walking around the city, taking in the local flavor and such. We saw the Saigon River, watched a traditional Chinese Dragon Dance, took pictures of the Reunification Palace from beyond the gate, and wandered into a pretty cool open-air market. As I remember, every city we went to had one of these markets. They're full of many of the same kinds of crafts and trinkets, and most of them will probably never be touched by tourist hands, let alone bought. As we walked through parks, we saw people out getting exercise, and we even got to watch a pretty intense game of hackey-sack volleyball. We finished up the first night with a sampling of the local brews, and it was agreed that Saigon Red was the best. The others aren't really worth your time. Especially Zorok.

Overall, a fairly uneventful few days, and that was just fine by us. Questions? Comments? Click for pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/kevin.wender/Vietnam