I love the smell of Napalm in the morning....but bacon smells better.
Life in South East Asia is good. We have been in this part of the world for 3 weeks and, sadly, have only 2 to go. Bangkok, Thailand was our first stop and we were immediately shocked by exactly how hot it was, and how cheap it was. It has been fantastic to go from shared Hostel rooms to a Double Hotel room for under half the price, bathroom and sky tv included. Result! The heat really is intense and has really taken it's toll on us, 40 degree heat was never meant for walking around in! After the madness and many sites of Bangkok, we headed North to Chiang Mai for a little bit of relaxation. It was quieter up there but by no means cooler...a hotel with a pool is essential.
A flight to Luang Prabang, Laos was next, and we spent 3 days in this Northern town. We both agree that this has been our favourite place so far; a relaxed pace of life, quaint, peaceful surroundings, a little cooler than down south and the locals don't hassle you to buy things. Also, Luang Prabang is refreshingly untouched, and so for the first time on our travels we experienced a more basic way of life. Here we visted waterfalls, swam in small lagoons, ate great food, drank great beer and got soaked by kids as part of their new year celebrations. If you end up in Asia make sure you visit Laos, brilliant country.
As time is not on our side for this leg of the travels, 3 days was all we could afford there and we flew into Hanoi, Vietnam with a great deal of anticipation to see the capital. Hanoi was a completely different experience for us. It is so busy and, due to the volume of mopeds, is really polluted. Traffic lights really mean nothing in Asia but I don't know why they even have them in Vietnam....never obeyed. We managed to take in a lot of sights in and around Hanoi; Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, Water Puppetry and a 2 day cruise to Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island were the highlights among others. What you learn quickly about Vietnam is that everyone will try and make money out of you and attempt to sell you something every minute of the day. This can be quite annoying at first but it soon becomes easier to cope with.
Hue was next for us and after a 14 hour overnight train journey "first class" (not what you may think) we arrived sore and still tired. We nabbed a great hotel for the pricely sum of 4 pounds a night and managed to spend a couple of days wandering aimlessly and avoiding cyclo drivers. Hue was a nice wee place, quieter than Hanoi but with the same aggressive sales techniques. From there we flew to Saigon/ Ho Chi Minh City and it is from there we type this post.
So far we've checked out the Cu Chi tunnels and the War remnants Museum which have been equally fascinating for completely different reasons. Some of the images in the museum were harrowing and hard to take. Hanoi was the busiest city for us until we came here, this place is insane. You really do take your life in your own hands crossing the road, it has to seen to be believed. Leaving tomorrow for Cambodia and will be staying in Phnom Penh for a few days to see what that has to offer. Although it has taken a lot of getting used to and has been a massive culture shock, we are loving our time in Asia and wish we could stay for longer. That said, we are now looking forward to getting home and catching up with all the news from the past 14 months....can't believe the time has passed so quickly!
A flight to Luang Prabang, Laos was next, and we spent 3 days in this Northern town. We both agree that this has been our favourite place so far; a relaxed pace of life, quaint, peaceful surroundings, a little cooler than down south and the locals don't hassle you to buy things. Also, Luang Prabang is refreshingly untouched, and so for the first time on our travels we experienced a more basic way of life. Here we visted waterfalls, swam in small lagoons, ate great food, drank great beer and got soaked by kids as part of their new year celebrations. If you end up in Asia make sure you visit Laos, brilliant country.
As time is not on our side for this leg of the travels, 3 days was all we could afford there and we flew into Hanoi, Vietnam with a great deal of anticipation to see the capital. Hanoi was a completely different experience for us. It is so busy and, due to the volume of mopeds, is really polluted. Traffic lights really mean nothing in Asia but I don't know why they even have them in Vietnam....never obeyed. We managed to take in a lot of sights in and around Hanoi; Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, Water Puppetry and a 2 day cruise to Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island were the highlights among others. What you learn quickly about Vietnam is that everyone will try and make money out of you and attempt to sell you something every minute of the day. This can be quite annoying at first but it soon becomes easier to cope with.
Hue was next for us and after a 14 hour overnight train journey "first class" (not what you may think) we arrived sore and still tired. We nabbed a great hotel for the pricely sum of 4 pounds a night and managed to spend a couple of days wandering aimlessly and avoiding cyclo drivers. Hue was a nice wee place, quieter than Hanoi but with the same aggressive sales techniques. From there we flew to Saigon/ Ho Chi Minh City and it is from there we type this post.
So far we've checked out the Cu Chi tunnels and the War remnants Museum which have been equally fascinating for completely different reasons. Some of the images in the museum were harrowing and hard to take. Hanoi was the busiest city for us until we came here, this place is insane. You really do take your life in your own hands crossing the road, it has to seen to be believed. Leaving tomorrow for Cambodia and will be staying in Phnom Penh for a few days to see what that has to offer. Although it has taken a lot of getting used to and has been a massive culture shock, we are loving our time in Asia and wish we could stay for longer. That said, we are now looking forward to getting home and catching up with all the news from the past 14 months....can't believe the time has passed so quickly!
posted by Fred & Laura at
Thursday, April 19, 2007
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