Saturday, November 21, 2009

Halong Bay Cruise

Day 27

   Got up at 7 and went for free breakfast which consisted of toast, bananas and coffee or tea. Downed about 6 or 7 pieces of toast couple cups of coffee and awaited our shuttle buss to take us the the boat. Our guide was very cool, spoke good English and was very insightful telling us all sorts of things about the islands and Vietnamese culture. We arrived at the harbor and I had my ipod on dancing as we waited to board the boat. The boat had two older couples two younger couples, two English guys, one old Swedish man, Jeannie, Shea and I and two other guys, one from San Diego and the other from Brazil. The group seemed a little quiet and I was in a great mood so I immediately started talking to everyone cracking jokes and lightening the mood.



 
    When we got on the boat we started a dance party on the main deck jumping around and making a scene. They had funky disco music on and I jumped around yelling at the other boats passing making people on the other boats wave to us as we danced around the deck.



      Everything beside the meals on the boat costs money so we brought some of our own drinks and kept them in the room. We had family style lunch getting to know one another as our boat made its way to the caves and floating market in the Halong bay islands. They served fish, squid, chicken, rice, soup, spring rolls and for desert water melon. After lunch we sat on lawn chairs on the top deck and looking at the hundreds of beautiful islands that stretch as far as the eye can see.



     We made our way to the caves and went kayaking after around the islands. When we got back to the boat we got to swim for a while and I started it off by jumping off the 3rd deck about 15-20ft into the water. Afterwords we showered up and went for dinner in the dining area. They put Karaoke on and I busted out with MC Hammer not knowing the words so I just free styled and pretended to know the song. The staff got into it and joined the party all having a great time and bonding with the rest of the group.




    The older couple fished for squid off the back of the boat and were pretty mellow so  I joined them for a bit and talked for a while before heading to bed on the boat around 11:30.


Flying from Laos To Vietnam

Day 26

   Off to to Hanoi, Vietnam on the death plane Debbie had so nicely dubbed it as we woke up making me feel a little uneasy about flying. So I joke about it for a while to lighten the mood and try not to think about some crazy airplane crashing in the middle of the jungle. We all packed up had some breakfast at Jomes Bakery a chain over here which is like star bucks with a little more class. I was nearly out of kip and borrowed money so I did not have to take more kip out and be stuck with that useless useless currency in Vietnam. It was pretty hot today and so Kirk and I just lay in the room for a while AC pumping to keep from sweating like crazy.
  
    We arrived at the airport and checked our bags then waiting and hour and half for our boarding time. I fell straight asleep on the plane and woke up upon landing.


    We had booked rooms at the Drift Backpackers Hostel and got a free pick up from the airport to the hostel. The traffic in Honoi the captial of Vietnam is madness and there seems to be no rules on the road. There are 4-5 million motor bikes in the city and they go anywhere they chose weaving in all directions at any intersection. We all stay glued to the windows watching the traffic zig zag and criss cross as we make our way to the hostel. We arrived frazzeled and tired from traveling and check into our rooms. The lobby of the hostel was crazy a well and and a little to much for me to deal with at the time so I just sat at the restaurant there ordered food and let the other take care of checking in.
    Shea and Jeannie had been there a day already and were planning a boat trip to Halong bay the next day so I decided to join them and get out of the crazy city. I packed up my small bag with two shirts a pair of shorts and my camera stuff and left my big bag in storrage at the hostel because we were going on a boat and I didnt want to have all of my stuff with me. I couldnt sleep because my mind was racing from all of the comotion and craziness from the days events and the action going on in Hanoi City. This is like no other place I have been in my life.

VIP Bus to Vientiene

Day 25


  
    The VIP bus was not so VIP. The seats were so small I had to sit sideways with my legs in the isle the whole ride. The ride took about 4 hrs and we arrived just after dark in Vientiene, the capital of Laos.




    Got a tuk to the center of town and looked for accommodation. Got a dorm room which is the first dorm room we have stayed in this entire trip. All showered the grime from our bus journey away and went out for dinner. We found a very cool martini bar with happy hour and relaxed feeling high class sipping James Bond Martinis.


     After we walked along the Mai Khong river checking out the frogs and shrimps in buckets that some street vendors had for sale. We sat at a rooftop lounge and looked out at the river enjoying the view and having great conversation with some other Americans we met in the market. After the bar we met some really cool people by a crape vendor and hung on the street joking and laughing for a while and exchanging emails.

Pool Day

Day 24

     Family guy bar for breakfast AGAIN (see a trend here?) and then off to a hotel that has a pool to use during the day. We all hung around playing Chris' ipod speakers and relaxing by the pool. We also met some more cool Aussie people by the pool and made plans to go out later for dinner that night.


    The tubers from today had a contest at the river for best stunts and best wipe outs which were captured on camera and were to be voted on at a bar that night. We went to the bar and watched the ridiculous videos and voted for the ones that were the craziest. Our Canadian friend Rachelle won the best wipe out prize for going off a rope swing on another guys shoulders winning a free bucket.


     Chris was in a very good mood tonight dancing and hugging every one in the bar, and I mean everyone. He must have told me he loved me like ten times this night.



      We went to the Q-bar which was packed and everyone was dancing. A random guy got pushed off his stool on accident by another friend of his and split his head pretty bad. We got him outside and called a tuk tuk to get him to the hospital. His friend wanted to take him home and put him to bed which is a stupid idea because he had a cuncussion and was compleetly out of it so another girl and I made sure he went to the hospital. After this Kirk and I went over the river to the sunset bar and hung out in the hammocks. I am going to start calling Kirk Hudini beacause when he gets drunk at the end of the night he just up and dissapears leaving me at the bar wondering where he has wandered off to. Luckily he has a good homing device or something and always makes it back to his hotel safe. So after looking around and realizing he was gone I returned to the hotel and went to bed.

Caves

Day 23

    Chilled out at the family guy bar for breakfast and heard about the caves you can go to see close by so we decide to head out to see them. Mandy, Kirk, Debbie and I got a tractor tuk tuk from town 7km to the caves it was quite a ride through swamps and over some gnarly roads.


    We got a guide and he gave us headlights and took us up the hill a 100ft and into the caves. They were slippery and dark so having a guide to show us where to walk was a good idea!  He took us about an hour deep into the caves where it was pitch black and into huge rooms that were 50 ft wide and 25 ft tall! Some spaces we had to duck down and squeeze through entering all sorts of different sized caves with stalagmites and stalactites all over.


     I was literally dripping sweat and after our spelunking in the caves there was a beautiful swimming at the bottom of the hill with deep blue water and a tree you could jump off into the cool water.



     As we sat and relaxed I met a guy named Chris Taylor who had lived in Mendocino until he was 8 yrs old and went to the Green house School with me when I was in first and second grade! He moved away to Hawaii, and he also knew Jake Barefoot our good friend from Hawaii and a child hood friend of mine whom I had grown up with. I remembered his dad Ron Taylor who used to work in Mendocino at the Chevron gas station. It really makes you realize how small the world is.
     Our ride back on the tuk tuk was crazy and the driver didnt slow up for anything almost nailing cows, dogs and even children. We returned and of course found Chris at the family guy bar where we joined him and relaxed until around 9. We went out to Bucket Bar and met up with the crazy Aussie guys who we met back in Pai, Thailand who were trashed from tubing all day and still going hard. We partied there for a while and ended up back at the Q-Bar where we met the Swiss Boys from Laung Prabang who were dancing and "cutting shapes". We finished the night at the Sunset bar across the river the only place still open until they finally closed as well.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Tubing Round 2

Day 22

    Spent the morning shopping travel agents for our flight to Hanoi, Vietnam. Our plan was to leave to Vientiane then fly to Vietnam the next day. Booked our tickets, chilled out and got ready for tubing. A 65 year old man was there and did one of the zip lines. The end of the line has a big spring to stop the handle but he did not let go in time, hitting the stopper at full speed making him do a violent full back flip landing on his face in the water. Chris and I stood mouths open thinking he was dead ready to jump in and save him. He emerged, swam back and seemed fine to our surprise where we all gave him high fives and the bar gave him a free rum buckets. He continued to party with us the whole rest of the day.

I talked with the old man "Frank" for a while after his crash and learned of his crazy life travel experiences. He had been traveling since he was 19 with basically just the money in his pocket and had been to almost every country in the world. Quite a cool guy with some great stories and experiences to share.




    More mud wrestling, tug of war, mud volley ball, mud body painting and general chaos ensued.


Bruised and Battered

Day 21
   
    Got up early at 7:30am bruised and battered from the tubing the day before and not able to sleep anymore. Had breakfast and went across to the river side lounge to relax. Kirk and I were bruised up and comared our scars from the tubing extravaganza. We just laid there in pain for a few hours and tried not to move. Most of the day was spent like this in the shade trying to nurse ourself back to health.


  In the afternoon I went and got a haircut at one of the coolest barber shops ive ever seen.




    Joined everyone at the Family Guy Restaurant telling horror stories from tubing but still  being psyched about the next days tubing.

I litterally spent the entire day at the Family Guy Bar and probably watched 2 full seasons and gorged myself with every kind of food on the menu to lazy and sore to even get up. As I layed there almost everyone I knew came by and hung out for a bit, ate then went on their way as other showed up.

Tubing Insanity

Day 20

    The egg, chicken, bacon baguette from the street vendors started our day off right. Our whole group got Ray Ban glasses in different florescent colors becoming Team Ray Ban. There is a sign by the tubes that says tubing alone supports 1500 families in the area. This is a very strange scene to have in the middle of Laos but we have been hearing about it since before we started our trip so we had to try it out. Got our tubes and all crammed into a tuk tuk and off to the river. They take you about a mile and a half up the river with your tubes where numerous bars line the river bank blaring loud techno music with crazy rope swings and zip lines shooting off of each bar with a unknown depth of water below.


    We had heard stories of people seriously injuring themselves and dying recently so I watched others go off swings before I could warm up to them. Further down the river we stopped at a place with a volley ball court in the muddle of a huge mud pit being fed by a water hose. It was almost impossible to stand and I did a full front slide on my face into the mud.


    At the 4th bar there was a huge water slide which I attempted and came out unskathed where as others in our group were not so lucky and ended up with huge bruises from the impact.


     After this I tried as many swings as I could and had a blast. One of the guys did a absolutely huge back flip off the swings shown in the video below.









 

    We did not end up finishing the float back to town as it was getting dark so we got off early and got a tuk back to our hotel. The day was seriously exhausting and fun and almost everyone was in bed by 8pm. The most fun day of the trip by far!