Home again!

My friends,

I am home again. The journey has ended...but it really is the beginning. As I stand before you in the robe I bought from the family on the dragon boat in Vietnam holding the "Sawadee Angels" from Thailand I ponder about my next great adventure. But before I get a head of myself let me expand on the significance of my new symbols and latest addition to my Kitsilano home: "Thepanom Sawadee Angels" - The pair of statues is called "Thepanom" and appears with folded hands at the entrance of houses and other establishments in Thailand. In fact there is a very large pair at the entrance to the Suvarnabhumi airport, Bangkok's new modern airport. The statues usually come as a pair as male and female. Thia people believe that the Thepanons protects the place and brings good luck, health, wealth and prosperity. According to religious belief, Thepanon are angels at the gates of the Lord Indra (God of rain and ruler of the heaven). These angels would welcome the arrival of guests into heaven. In ancient times Thepanons were found at the entrance of temple gates and windows to protect temples and ward off evil spirits and bad omen.

The only thing that strikes me as concerning is the "welcoming guests to heaven" bit. I am not so sure I would take the invite if offered without a confirmed and guaranteed return flight! Regardless, they now protect my home as I adopt one of the most appealing (to me) Thai beliefs. When a Thai person welcomes you the female says "sa-wat-dii-kha" and the male "sa-wa-dii-khrap" and they (as with the Thepanon) press their hands together at the chest and bow only their head to the top of their hands. It is a show of respect and should be returned. I was there almost two weeks until I realized I was bending my whole body looking rather silly but always receiving appreciation for the effort. Much like butchering French in Quebec, most appreciate the effort but can't help but laugh at that same time.

It is good to be home. I was delayed in Hong Kong coming back and put up in a five star hotel with meals for the night. It did though end up costing me in the long run as in my post adventure haze relying only on my finely honed instincts of a now well traveled man of multiple countries...well I made a big mistake!! For some reason I got thinking that every 100 Hong Kong dollars equals 8 Canadian. I came across a great deal at the airport, Hugo Boss socks that were basically a steal! I got my visa statement today and the socks cost me $25 a pair!! so I am framing them as a gentle reminder to never get over confident in your international travels haha.

Soooooo.....home, was a rough few days adjusting to the time zone and going back to work :(. Many have told me that travel changes you....well.....stay tuned because the magnitude of ideas and plans running through my head aside from running commentary on life will entertain you for some time :)...with that I officially end Pete's Asian Adventure.

Asian Tour Ends

Greetings,

Well it has been great but time to head back. I had the chance to take in a few sites such as the Zoo and well...I thought it might best be the place to comment on my sole injury on this trip???















You have to be very careful at all times!!!!
















Actually, I burned my calf on the exhaust pipe from a moped!.....but I will be fine. A nice little souvenir scar!! As you can see above...it could have been worse!!

So, a few goodbye shots but stay tuned for my post wrap up comments and maybe a top 10 sites and experiences....c u soon! Pete

Vietnam Report Number Two

Howdy all!

I finally was able to upload a side show of my Vietnam trip. It took me a little time to whittle down 260 or so photos into some key ones and I have yet to get to the captions but simply, I started North and worked my way South with stops at Hue (old first capital of Nam), Hoi An, and drove thru Danang. Stops at Nha Trang, Mui Ne Beach and then into Hanoi. The sleeper bus was the way to go as the train did not allow for getting on and off as you choose. Great trip and for the most part it gave me terrific insight into a war beaten up communist state that is very proud of it's defeat of both the French (Indochina) and subsequently the U.S. (Vietnam). It is a state fully embracing capitalism and growing rapidly as a result. But like most of Asia underground systems (water and sewage treatment) have to evolve to establish the level of confidence needed to boost the valuation in the currency....simply, many investors believe strongly in the growth potential of Asia though infrastructure and political uncertainty still leave "prudent" mid to small (ie not politically connected or large enough to dictate terms) investors on the sidelines.

Seeing Ho Chi Minh embalmed was interesting!! in Hanoi. Seeing the Reunification Palace in Saigon was very interesting especially how quickly it was renamed Ho Chi Minh with the defeat of the US. Though, to many Southern Vietnamese it continues to be referred to as Saigon. The tunnels system and the booby traps the North Vietnamese used to virtually come and go in Southern Vietnam were quite something to see - I was left feeling that the US never had a chance and must have learned something from the experience....Iraq would suggest not. Seeing things from the Vietnamese perspective and listening to the Vietnamese view point really opened my eyes.

Regardless, the people, food and tourist attractions are great. Hanoi is the center of government and more serious...Saigon the center of commerce and more modern.....in between some beautiful beaches and towns all along the Southern China Sea. As far as experiences I have come to learn that too many things to mention and most more worth experiencing or best described pouring over pictures...such as my moped bike I rented for three hours and coming across 50 men in a circle preparing for a rural daily "cock fight!"...or watching the women doing needlepoint all day!!! ...or watching the work ethic of a people that lives in the moment making exactly what they need to survive...and the humour of never knowing what is going to happen or what exactly you have ordered or if you are on the right bus or what to pay.....or trying to cross the street in Saigon....one moment appreciating more sophistication in electronics and energy conversation and the next feeling like you stepped into the 19th century...or getting on the back of a moped taxi driver in Bangkok and having to slow for an elephant...or a bar just opens on a corner of two streets....just simply going along without expectations and making the best of whatever happens...and admiring how much fun people (locals) are having in a world painted in the west as in need of our way of doing things...I think not!!!

I am now back in Bangkok with Robert. I am taking Kimberley's advice and after hanging out with Rob at his pool, eating and taking in the sights of a city the explodes with "client driven service" at night haha...I am going to relax, go to the spa, and have some down time before I fly back on Thursday and go back to work! :(....alas though....this is Thailand and I am sure there will be something to share within the next hour or two!! :):) Stay tuned!

Vietnam Report Number One

Howdy,

I arrived back in Bangkok.  My third return trip to Bangkok, the taxi drivers now know I am a veteran and there is no scamming me!!! :) haha.  Here are few shots as I need to get some rest and will upload a slide show over the weekend.  Love it here :)  Photos are of the sleeper bus, the tunnels (which ran over 250km by the way) and more....

Vietnam Update

Howdy,

Now in Ho Chi Minh City or as the locals (Southern Vietnamese) still refer to it as Saigon.  The Internet connectivity here is poor, surprisingly.  The hotel I am at is nice but the Internet rarely works.  I went to a cafe and it was faster but the computers are so old no need to even try to upload a photo.  I hired a taxi for the afternoon and went to see the tunnels the North Vietnamese used to infiltrate enemy lines.  I also went to the Reunification Palace.  It was been so interesting though not enough time this trip to take in many of the things I come to discover that would be very worthwhile to do...especially going into Cambodia.  I had incredible sweet and sour fish soup and this bar-b-que (spicy) beef dish that were out of this world a t a restaurant recommended by the Lonely Planet book..."Lemon Grass." Just a quick update to let you know all is well...photos to come on Friday or Saturday.  All the best.

Footnote

Greetings,

 

Chuc Mung Nam Moi  (Happy New Year),

Remember when I mentioned on a few occasions about how sure footed you have to be in this part of the world.  I met a couple from London, England last night in the hotel lobby.  He broke his foot in Thailand.  Just by not watching his footing on a city street.  There ya go!  He did mention that the hospital care was excellent and cheap. 

 

I rented a moped for four hours this morning and toured all over Hoi An. It was great opportunity to get outside the city and see how the locals live and a bit of scenery - much like the bike ride Rob and I went on in Thailand.  I became one quite proficient with the horn and had the most fun honking at tourist like I lived here and watching them scramble ha ha too funny. I went down this cobbled lane mainly for shoppers as I saw the locals doing it well...yea yea I guess I could run with the bulls in Spain some day as well!!!   I was also out on the highway and checked out the beach...you don't know the feeling of having 6 restaurants on the beach seeking your business...I am a pretty big wheel here!! :):)

 

I leave tonight on the sleeper bus with the full intention of going straight through to Ho Chi Minh. ( could see me on the bus for 14 hours if it works out - yikes)...I really want to see the tunnels the North Vietnamese used to overtake the Americans.  As they are outside of the city I want to make sure I have the time.  No pics as it just is not possible to upload here....takes forever and my access is limited,....so...stay tuned :)

Hue and Hoi An

Greetings from the road,

 

So this sleeper bus, let me put it this way....picture an amusement ride the your sure you will die on but it is over in a minute...now picture it lasting 10 hours!!  I am going to rename it the smelly feet sleeper bus because that is exactly what it is haha.  It get's better...supposed to arrive in Hue at 8am... we roll in at 430am.  Everyone gets off the bus and wanders in different directions into the dark.  I somehow found that Citadel (fortress) and walked around it until it opened at 7am.  It was cold, and I would have killed for anything remotely near a Tim Hortons...you can not get a western coffee in this part of the world and certainly not at 5am.  It was quite a freaky experience but I sorted it out, toured the fort, took a boat ride up the Perfume River and I believe adopted the entire family who it turns out actually live on the boat with their two kids.  I bought everything they tried to sell me to help them out...coming home with a silk robe that should be good for Halloween with the dragons all over it :).  Back on the bus later that day for Hoi An.  Beautiful little quaint cobble stoned town full of shops and eateries.  As you all  know I hate knick knacks...any ways....the land of knick knacks and agressive sellers of all ages,  Like I said watching the people and how they live is fascinating...I could go on for hours about how they interact with each other and thier children.  It is quite challenging figuring your way around with the language barriers etc and to do so is quite exhilarating.  Today was a freaky day but a small triumph in it's own way.  I will share with you one such example...all I wanted was some breakfast and a hot!!! coffee this morning,.  I hire a rickshaw driver as I needed to get back to bus office which was not where we were dropped off to make sure I had a reservation on the very bus I just go off of for later the same day....I know...everything is a challenge haha...meanwhile the elderly rickshaw driver is hustling me toward his favorite breakfast place and negotiating how we will spend the day together...I finally bought him off to leave me alone and fled into what look liked the first enclosed (warm) coffee shop I had seen all morning.  In I go. It was like walking into a night club in Vancouver at 2am on a Saturday night.  I was the only white guy.  There was a DJ spinning loud, very loud dance music...everyone was smoking and staring at me.  I was too tired to care.  I sat down an ordered (due to language barrier) two breakfasts and a coffee.  It was a strange breakfast in many ways but I regained my energy to move on but without my hearing...for a while....a three hour bus ride and into another town...and yes it continues,,,and you know what, I am loving it! :):)

Hanoi Update

Hello,

Well this has been quite an experience thus far. I have to come understand the significance of Tet! This New Year celebration is like Christmas, New Years and everyone's birthdays combined. Everything is closed. Though several key sites are open. I hope to get into Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum and museum tomorrow. This is a communist state though there has been considerable growth in capitalism but you won't find most of the well known fast food chains here. The people of the north are reported to be not quite as friendly as those in the south, less smiles that's for sure than in Thailand. This place is so entrenched in history and war that is is quite fascinating. It certainly is the city in Vietnam to spend some time in. Walking the streets and seeing how people live and interact has been the highlight thus far. I have had some interesting dishes "road side." So I now have money from four countries on me and you try to get it straight and do the math...7:1 Hong Kong Dollar...32:1 Thailand Baht....16,000:1 Vietnamese Dong...and some good old US dollars which come in handy here and there and what ever they decide to give me for it :):)

It has been quite interesting. Picture arriving in a city bigger than Montreal, or about the same size...flat, no landmarks, everything in Vietnamese, everything closed...and everyone on the streets on mopeds, bikes and walking...moving around with families to every place of worship or place of significance. It is not a party atmosphere but a very friendly and festive environment. Today at one of the religious sites a family approached me and though they did not speak English they wanted their four year old little girl to wish me Happy New Year...they then wished me a wife very early in the new year :):) Originally I thought everyone was hitting the horns on their bikes and cars to celebrate the new year...though have come to realize that is how they drive!! The best way I can describe it is it is a sort of sonar?? They hit the horn constantly letting everyone close to them know where they are at all times...it you even try to lean toward the street you will set off a good dozen horns from traffic coming in both directions...u get used to it as a steady background noise.

Using my "Lonely Planet" guide book on Vietnam I have been doing quite quite well considering very few people speak any English. It is cold here, I am wearing everyday everything I brought...I guess I could have researched the weather a little better. Going from Bangkok to Hanoi was a real wake up. My $16.00 CAD hotel is better than expected though today we ran out of hot water :). Today (Saturday) I leave at 5pm is to leave on a sleeper bus (bus with beds!! - company I am using is "Camel Travelco") for the overnight journey down the coast to Hue City (site of the famous Tet Offensive) the historic capital of Vietnam. Spend the day there and then to Hoi An (the ancient city) and then to Nha Trang and then to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh). All this came from the recommendation of the first person I met in Vietnam. I arrived on Thursday at 1pm and walked up to a cafe that overlooked the lake. A girl asked to sit at my table. I had acquired the best table view wise so it was the view she was after I am sure! She is from Saigon on vacation. She gave me a bit of a walking tour of Hanoi and at the same time clarified many of the misconceptions you acquire from the west re Nam. She advised I go south via the sleeper bus, you see the train does not allow you to get on and off enroute to Saigon. After several hours she had my chosen word for the new year "Clarity" written in calligraphy by street people. By 7pm she was off to catch a train to the north. I am still not sure whether she was real or...this "is" the land of spirits and there is never more likely a time for them to return to earth than during Lunar New Year's Day!!!! hmmmm....patron saint of safe travel...though the real messages here seem to come from dragons, snakes, a phoenix and a turtle....and it is the year of the rat????

So that is how it is going...I really enjoying taking the time to get a sense of how people live, eat and move around in these cities rather than running off and doing all the tourist stuff! This morning I found a few day old paper (many stores still closed) and read up on Nam. Yes the press are tightly controlled re censorship but at the end of the day they struggle with many of the same issues everyone else does such as the less family and more individual(self centered) focus of the youth. Stay tuned :)

Vietnam Bound

Greetings,

I have secured a visa for entry into Vietnam and leave on a flight from Bangkok to Hanoi tomorrow am.  Well, now that I look back at my original plans I see how unrealistic my goals were...to think that I could see all that I wanted in four short weeks when everything involves more time & expense just to get oriented and organized.  I could spend all four weeks in any one of the three destinations.  Though this is giving me great insight into where I may want to return and more closely explore some time soon?? :).  I have adjusted my plans for Vietnam from seeing everything from North to South (2000km) to simply flying into Hanoi....taking a train to Danang...maybe a flight to Ho Chi Min and then a flight back to Bangkok....and see what I find along the way haha...still beats being herded around in a group by a tour company...you really learn when you have to rely on yourself.  I just found out it I will be there during the Vietnamese Lunar New Year...I am travelling on Chinese New Year's Day...soooo....may either be great timing and more more eventful or frustrating with the increased numbers of travellers....wish me luck...I should be able to find an internet cafe along the way :) so "stay tuned"

Bangkok Bike Trip

Howdy,

Rob took me for a terrific 30km bike trip which he mapped with on his gps unit so I felt the experience was worthy of another slide show as you can see :). He had previously discovered this very interesting route that is quite off the beaten path but you would have to see where we accessed the river to appreciate it...I will not even try to explain...all I know was one right turn and it was like a hidden alley with an entire community of street vendors almost completely appearing out of nowhere in an industrial area near the river...any how :) we went from the city to the riverside where we hired a river taxi and we were able to explore a very unique part of Bangkok across the river. The yellow pin was where we finished which was at Rob's apartment. It was hot and strenuous but well worth the challenge. Navigating city traffic is not for everyone and I would liken it with other thrill seeking sports such as cliff jumping! Though it was worth it as once across the river is was like an escape. After a hot ride and a bag of cream soda (they put all drinks in bags of ice so they can put them around the handle bars of their bikes, mopeds and street vending carts etc without worrying about spilling), we cooled off for a few hours in Robs pool. For reference purposes...when we were on the river last time (on the long tail boat when we visited the King's Palace), it was further up the river (left side of map), north of the twin bridges you can just make out (if you double click on the map above).

So life unfolds here in Thailand. We went out for dinner last night and Rob wanted to show me a nice club. We only had to travel maybe one kilometer. It took three cabs. I am still not sure what happened...we figured out that the first taxi wanted to take us to a specific cub where he would get a commission for dropping us off..not sure what that was all about...so we chose to get out in dispute and "no pay"...the second said he would take us to where we wanted to go and then enroute advised us traffic was too bad and we should go elsewhere....same routine....out we go again!!!..the third guy was great and took us as per the directions. All-in-all very entertaining....but you can see the pitfalls when a tourist...Rob knows the lay of the land and kept us on track. I am very fortunate having a guy like Rob show me the ropes as I prepare to head out again on my own. I went to the Vietnamese embassy today (found it on my own), I'll know tomorrow at 3pm if they have one for me. It was a little too close for comfort as they are closing on Thursday for six days for Chinese New Year (Feb. 7th). Stay tuned....:)

Back In Bangkok

Greetings,

I had a good trip back to Bangkok from Chiang Mai. Only a 1.5 hour flight. Other than the constant negotiations with cabbies and the never ending sales presentations enroute from them regarding everything from the sun glasses they are wearing to massage to the zoo?? This guy wanted me to go from the airport to the zoo...with all my luggage..jeesh haha. At least with the language barrier I think that is what he wanted...he stuck a brochure in my hand...who knows, maybe he was sharing some personal experience with a stranger...:)

I have added another slide show.

Last night Rob and I went for Thai food at a nice restaurant called "Face." It was unbelievable. Eating here truly is an experience...mind you when your on vacation you truly have the time to sit back and appreciate everything. After dinner we stopped at the street vendours and had fresh mango and sticky rice, a popular Thai dessert...it is now my favorite dessert..okay maybe when in Thailand it pushes my pumpkin pies out of the top position on the desert top 10 list??

We were supposed to go bike riding today but it is raining, but it may clear up....so stay tuned...love pete

PS Happy Birthday "Lia" on Sunday....hopefully I will catch you on Skype xo