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| I asked this woman if I could take her photo and while she didn't say no, she looked at me wearily as if to say, Why don't you just fuck off. |
Tuesday, August 06, 2013
Going by Train
We travelled from Hanoi to Hoi An by train. Sam was less than impressed by the third world carriages. When he saw them, the expression on his face looked as though he had just smelt something fowl. I cant begin to describe the decor. Well, maybe I can, dirty duck egg green walls, gold curtains hanging in taters, all new, I would guess, circa 1953. What were once white pillow cases with groovy 1960s Jetson's geometrical patterns in dark green and light green, which were new, I'd say, in the 1960s, all pilled. Sam wanted to fly and he just gave me "that" look at the carriage door. I could see him momentarily mentally calculating if it was at all possible to retreat and buy a plane ticket.
I thought it was great, we met people, like Peter the cute Hungarian who travelled with us in our carriage. He prettied up the place, in his green muscle t-shirt and his lose black shorts and his beautiful blue eyes. Very sexy he was when he reached up to get into the top bunk with his t-shirt riding up. And his beautiful American girlfriend who was so interesting to talk to.
There was a Vietnamese woman who was the first in the sleeper in Hanoi, who disappeared in the middle of the night. She was there when we went to sleep, but was gone by the morning.
A cute, young Vietnamese boy replaced the Vietnamese woman at Whe. He seemed to be terrified, maybe it was his first train trip, I thought. He did manage to say he was going to Na Trang to visit his brother, finally, when the American girlfriend spoke to him... like Americans, eventually, do.
I got to take photos through the filthy train windows, and I saw much more than if we had flown. The world passed by before my eyes, in Technicolour.
Everybody should travel by train, I am definitely with Sheldon Cooper on that one. We ate the train food, which was delivered in open stainless steel trays, from one end of the train to the other, and we lived to tell the tail. But, I am still on antibiotics from the first bout of food poisoning, so, I guess, I am feeling some what brave.
Oh yes, the toilets, I must mention those. Goodness me! The old stainless steel bowl was full of water that splashed from side to side as the train thmp, thmp'ed along. They smelt bad, naturally. There was a strange flushing mechanism, which resembled Madonna's head piece face microphone, it fitted around the inside rim of the toilet, like the microphone fitted around Madonna's face. While Madonna's microphone is probably a piece of precision technology made by Bose, the flushing mechanism of the toilet looked as though it had been made from scrap. It was difficult to piss without fearing getting splashed, the water slopped around so much. Sam resorted to taking a dump at one of the stations, when the train was stationary, so the water wouldn't splash up onto his delicate behind. He never crapped quicker.
"I see, nothing is private," Sam said when he read this.
I thought it was great, we met people, like Peter the cute Hungarian who travelled with us in our carriage. He prettied up the place, in his green muscle t-shirt and his lose black shorts and his beautiful blue eyes. Very sexy he was when he reached up to get into the top bunk with his t-shirt riding up. And his beautiful American girlfriend who was so interesting to talk to.
There was a Vietnamese woman who was the first in the sleeper in Hanoi, who disappeared in the middle of the night. She was there when we went to sleep, but was gone by the morning.
A cute, young Vietnamese boy replaced the Vietnamese woman at Whe. He seemed to be terrified, maybe it was his first train trip, I thought. He did manage to say he was going to Na Trang to visit his brother, finally, when the American girlfriend spoke to him... like Americans, eventually, do.
I got to take photos through the filthy train windows, and I saw much more than if we had flown. The world passed by before my eyes, in Technicolour.
Everybody should travel by train, I am definitely with Sheldon Cooper on that one. We ate the train food, which was delivered in open stainless steel trays, from one end of the train to the other, and we lived to tell the tail. But, I am still on antibiotics from the first bout of food poisoning, so, I guess, I am feeling some what brave.
"I see, nothing is private," Sam said when he read this.
Monday, August 05, 2013
Sunday, August 04, 2013
Starting the Day Early
I was awake at 5.30am. I had one of those “fail” dreams. I was supposed to be following a couple of people to an AGM. The boss put his jacket on inside out, so I pointed out the mistake for him. Then he and somebody else walked away. They kept disappearing around street corners and I was in danger of losing them. I had a feeling of missing the AGM once again because I couldn’t work out where they were going. I just managed to see what building they disappeared into, as I struggled to get all of my stuff together to follow them. I made it, but only just, seemingly. In the end, we were all in some kind of old pale green fibro building, where everybody had gathered. People were collecting documents together and I had the sense that I didn’t know what they were doing.
Shrug. I lay in bed for a while to try an decipher the dream. What the? Stupid dreams.
I looked at my watch and it said 5.55 something. Bugger! This was especially bad as we are catching the 23.00 train out of Hanoi tonight to Hoi An. At that point I wished we were catching a plane. Stupid me, the train was my idea. I always think that train travel is good because you get to see all those things that you miss when you fly. I wished we were flying.
The sun hadn’t risen when I went to the bathroom to piss. Out the window, Hanoi was bathed in milky light, that soft focus of early morning. I sat on the balcony and smoked a cigarette. I got my laptop and a bottle of water and here I am.
The sun slowly rose slowly and the heat increased dramatically, as the sunshine hit me.
I retreated inside at 6.30.
I feel a bit depressed today, not a good way to start the day, hey? I don’t know if I am tired? Worn down by being sick for the first week? What it was? I think it was the feeling of being a failed tourist? You know, you never feel that you see everything. It always seems like everybody else is better organised and are getting to see more than you do. Well, maybe it is just me who feels that way? I prefer being amongst the people, more so than ticking every museum and historical site off the list.
I headed down to Buon Dua Le Cafe at 6.55am, to drink coffee and eat sausage and fish and potato portions. I drank coffee and fruit juice. I ate fruit, the poppy seed type with red skin and watermelon. And more coffee.
A cute German boy shared the balcony with me. He finished his breakfast and headed off up Hang Hanh Street just after 7am. I wondered where he was going? I wondered what site seeing he had marked out in his brain. I wondered if most tourists were so organised to be up and off out around the city at such an early hour.
Sam came down for breakfast at 7.45am.
Then we went shopping, for most of the day. The sun shone down brightly. We found the restaurant we ate in the other night. Sam with his girlie sense of direction found it. Then we shopped some more.
I looked at my watch and it said 5.55 something. Bugger! This was especially bad as we are catching the 23.00 train out of Hanoi tonight to Hoi An. At that point I wished we were catching a plane. Stupid me, the train was my idea. I always think that train travel is good because you get to see all those things that you miss when you fly. I wished we were flying.
The sun hadn’t risen when I went to the bathroom to piss. Out the window, Hanoi was bathed in milky light, that soft focus of early morning. I sat on the balcony and smoked a cigarette. I got my laptop and a bottle of water and here I am.
The sun slowly rose slowly and the heat increased dramatically, as the sunshine hit me.
I retreated inside at 6.30.
I feel a bit depressed today, not a good way to start the day, hey? I don’t know if I am tired? Worn down by being sick for the first week? What it was? I think it was the feeling of being a failed tourist? You know, you never feel that you see everything. It always seems like everybody else is better organised and are getting to see more than you do. Well, maybe it is just me who feels that way? I prefer being amongst the people, more so than ticking every museum and historical site off the list.
I headed down to Buon Dua Le Cafe at 6.55am, to drink coffee and eat sausage and fish and potato portions. I drank coffee and fruit juice. I ate fruit, the poppy seed type with red skin and watermelon. And more coffee.
A cute German boy shared the balcony with me. He finished his breakfast and headed off up Hang Hanh Street just after 7am. I wondered where he was going? I wondered what site seeing he had marked out in his brain. I wondered if most tourists were so organised to be up and off out around the city at such an early hour.
Sam came down for breakfast at 7.45am.
Then we went shopping, for most of the day. The sun shone down brightly. We found the restaurant we ate in the other night. Sam with his girlie sense of direction found it. Then we shopped some more.
Saturday, August 03, 2013
Hot in Hanoi
It is hot, hot in Hanoi. It has been raining over night and this morning the humidity is off the scale. Truthfully, that may be because I am a whiny white boy from Melbourne, sure. Sitting on the balcony eating breakfast at 7am and my clothes are sticking to me. I can feel the beads of sweat running down my body under my t-shirt. Lovely.
Eggs and sausage and fish. A couple of juices and I am now on schedule for my second cup of coffee.
The rain falls in front of me in huge drops. The motor bike riders are covered in wet weather gear from head to toe, but it changes their driving style not a bit. Plastic is draped over the parked machines. There is a sea of umbrellas moving down the street like a colony of bats. And the Hanoi morning throbs and whizzes by as usual.
Horns tooting.
The traffic jams in front of me, as cars continue forward from both directions, until nobody can move, nobody wanting to give an inch.
Horns tooting.
Slowly, reluctantly, one car reverses, then another. Motor bikes rush into the space the cars have left, adding drama to the knot of vehicles.
Horns tooting.
It rained and rained and rained and rained.
Eggs and sausage and fish. A couple of juices and I am now on schedule for my second cup of coffee.
The rain falls in front of me in huge drops. The motor bike riders are covered in wet weather gear from head to toe, but it changes their driving style not a bit. Plastic is draped over the parked machines. There is a sea of umbrellas moving down the street like a colony of bats. And the Hanoi morning throbs and whizzes by as usual.
Horns tooting.
The traffic jams in front of me, as cars continue forward from both directions, until nobody can move, nobody wanting to give an inch.
Horns tooting.
Slowly, reluctantly, one car reverses, then another. Motor bikes rush into the space the cars have left, adding drama to the knot of vehicles.
Horns tooting.
It rained and rained and rained and rained.
Friday, August 02, 2013
Still Got The Shits
The diarrhoea still hasn't stopped. I am off to the pharmacy to get antibiotics. You don't need a script here, so I have done research on the internet and I have the name of 3 antibiotics that would work. All of the internet references say that if you have diarrhoea for more than 2 days, you should do something about it. I have had it for 7 days... it really gave me the shits by the 7th day.
Lucky me.
Now I will probably be constipated until I get home to Melbourne ... because life is just like that. Smile. Ha ha.
Still, I no longer have to tense up, just in case.
Lucky me.
Now I will probably be constipated until I get home to Melbourne ... because life is just like that. Smile. Ha ha.
Still, I no longer have to tense up, just in case.
Thursday, August 01, 2013
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Ha Long Bay
We're off to Ha Long Bay today to spend the night on a junk on what promises to be a spectacular trip. I've never been before, but from the images I have seen Ha Long Bay is one of the wonders of the world... or should be.
The bus picks us up at 8am. 8am? Oh my! Funny that I still have such thoughts when I have been up and having breakfast at 7am these last few mornings. (it is funny how the whinging is conditioned)
Friends of ours were going to be in Hanoi the same time as us, we all chatted about it dinner before we left. They weren't spending long here, and we left it at "we must catch up." Tonight, we were back at the restaurant next to the hotel drinking coffee on the balcony watching the world go by when, yes it is a small world, our friends walked passed. They are staying at the hotel directly across the road. They are being picked up by the same bus tomorrow to go to Ha Long Bay. Of all the hotels (Gin joints, oh it should be in Hanoi) in Hanoi, and when I say there is many it is an understatement, they had to be staying in the same street.
One of our friends organises their trips down to the last minute detail in advance, while we said we'd organise stuff when we got here and we only organised this trip yesterday.
So, there you go, we are all off to Ha Long Bay in this morning. By bus, should be interesting.
The bus picks us up at 8am. 8am? Oh my! Funny that I still have such thoughts when I have been up and having breakfast at 7am these last few mornings. (it is funny how the whinging is conditioned)
Friends of ours were going to be in Hanoi the same time as us, we all chatted about it dinner before we left. They weren't spending long here, and we left it at "we must catch up." Tonight, we were back at the restaurant next to the hotel drinking coffee on the balcony watching the world go by when, yes it is a small world, our friends walked passed. They are staying at the hotel directly across the road. They are being picked up by the same bus tomorrow to go to Ha Long Bay. Of all the hotels (Gin joints, oh it should be in Hanoi) in Hanoi, and when I say there is many it is an understatement, they had to be staying in the same street.
One of our friends organises their trips down to the last minute detail in advance, while we said we'd organise stuff when we got here and we only organised this trip yesterday.
So, there you go, we are all off to Ha Long Bay in this morning. By bus, should be interesting.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Out for Dinner
Walking in the night in the streets of Hanoi heading out to dinner. The narrow streets feed traffic through the buildings, so like veins pulsing rich thick blood. There is no space to spare and no spare space. People walking, looking, selling, buying, carrying, carting, spruiking, begging, pleading... boys with wallets and lighters and books, girls with donuts and oranges that are green. The streets are lined with chairs and with tables with the audience in full attendance.
"Come in, good food here..."
"Would you like to buy my painting, my pots, my shirts, dresses, books, lighters, wallets... you name it."
"Motor Bike."
"I will take you for a ride."
People and talking and tooting and revving and lights and fumes and everybody whizzing away.
The streets full to bursting like a fat girl in a small dress... jogging. The is a wall of activity coming at you from every direction all of the time.
Everybody rushing, but where are all those people going, I often think, every hour of the day and night? People and push bikes and motor bikes and cars and trucks and buses all occupying the same spot, seemingly, at the same time and some how it all works
"Come in, good food here..."
"Would you like to buy my painting, my pots, my shirts, dresses, books, lighters, wallets... you name it."
"Motor Bike."
"I will take you for a ride."
People and talking and tooting and revving and lights and fumes and everybody whizzing away.
The streets full to bursting like a fat girl in a small dress... jogging. The is a wall of activity coming at you from every direction all of the time.
Everybody rushing, but where are all those people going, I often think, every hour of the day and night? People and push bikes and motor bikes and cars and trucks and buses all occupying the same spot, seemingly, at the same time and some how it all works
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