Good morning Vietnam, and Goodbye (5/3/14)

Come on I had to put that title in somewhere!

I awoke this morning reeeeeeaaally early, got my bags out the room as quietly as possible and carried them downstairs to the lobby. The reception staff were all asleep on the sofas but I woke one of them up by accident when I put my bags down. This was fortunate though as I needed to hand my key in and check out. That only took about 5 minutes as I'd already settled all bills last night. I said goodbye and walked, fully laden with my bags, to the road with the bus stop in. It was still dark and locals were starting to prepare their shops for opening but there was already a market up and running with people buying their produce early. I found the street and walked to where the bus stop was supposed to be and couldn't see anything that looked remotely like a bus stop. It was only then I realised I didn't actually know what their bus stops looked like as I hadn't needed to get one up till now. So I stopped in a shop that was already open to ask where the bus stop was. But no amount of pointing at the map and the bus symbol or at the "where is ..." translation that I had on another bit of paper got me an answer. So I gave up and left. I stood for a while to see if any buses came down the road. I could see buses travelling along the roads that ran across my road at each end but none came my way. After about 15 minutes I walked to one end of my road to look at the numbers of the buses but none matched the one I was after. I checked my wallet to see how much money I had to see if a taxi was affordable and only had 150,000 Dong. As I was doing this a taxi pulled up and asked if I wanted a ride. He quoted me 160,000 to the airport. I asked if he'd do it for 150,000 no meter and he agreed. At least this way I knew I'd get there in time as it was now about 6am. The journey took about 45 minutes with the early morning traffic so I was there in plenty of time. I found the check in desk which hadn't opened yet and there was no one else around so I found a seat and made myself comfortable. After a while more people arrived and I decided for a change to actually wait in the line for check in otherwise some of these people would start queueing and I'd end up 10th. So I moved my bag to in front of the desk and made a point about the fact I was there first. "Yeah that's right, I got up before ALL of you, so I'm going first whether it changes nothing in the long run or not. How do you like them apples?". I made sure not to say that out loud. After another half hour the staff arrived and the check in desk opened. I'd upped my baggage allowance another 5kg for $4 when I checked in because of the extra gifts I now had which was fortunate as it weighed in at just under the higher limit. It would have been $18 a kg otherwise. Security questions answered I got my ticket and was soon through the security control as I had no offending toblerone this time to hinder my progress. There weren't many shops on the other side to look around so made myself comfy in a quiet part of the airport and spent the time checking the times I needed to be at various places for the next part of the journey. This was the ludicrous section of my travelling plans. I stress this was not my decision but the decision of the travel agent. I was due to fly from Ho Chi Minh to Kuala Lumpur with Air Asia, then I had to get from KL airport to the city centre and get on a coach, that I had booked months ago online, to Singapore, then I had to get to Singapore airport and spend the night there for an early morning flight, with Malaysia Airlines, back to KL for a connection to Perth. I repeat I did not choose this plan. And yes I did ask why I couldn't stay in KL to catch the Perth connection from there. I was told this wasn't possible and it was cheaper for me to do this than to fly from KL anyway. Riiiiiggghhht! Fine, OK, whatever. I had allowed plenty of time to catch the coach and so wasn't that worried about it. The plane at HCM boarded as normal but once we were seated we were told a diplomatic flight had taken priority and we were now waiting for another take off slot. We ended up flying out 45 minutes later than planned. The flight went without a hitch but as it's a cheap flight food wasn't included and I wasn't going to pay the extortionate food prices onboard. I would wait till I got to KL and get something there. We landed in Kuala Lumpur without making up any time during the flight so were still 45 minutes behind schedule. By the time I got through security and got my bags it was later still. I had to find a money exchange place to find how many Malaysian ringgit there were to the pound so I knew how much to withdraw from the cash point and how much transport to the city centre was going to cost. Could I find an exchange place? Could I bollocks. The Wi-Fi in the airport wasn't working properly either so I couldn't get an answer on my phone. I finally found one in the departure lounge. THEN I was told that, despite the fact KL lies west of HCM on the map, KL it is in fact an hour ahead of HCM. Oh shit. So my three and a half hour allowance of time to get to the coach was now 1 hour because of the delays and the time difference. By the time everything had been done I was left with 45 minutes to get to the city centre to catch the coach. The easiest option was a cab. I bartered with a bloke outside the airport who I hoped was a cabby and got him down to 20 quid which I have no idea if that was a good deal or not. It was irrelevant, it was good enough for me. But he told me the journey was at least an hour without traffic. The time was now 14.00 and the coach times were check in at 14.30 for a 15.00 departure. Soooo not going to make this. I tried to distract myself with taking in the scenery outside and seeing what driving was like here but still absent mindedly chewed all my nails off. I did have time to notice that KL is a lot more modern and much more westernised than Vietnam. Roads were smooth, adverts were mainly in English, buildings were tall and shiny, cars were more powerful and in better condition and people obeyed the road rules. By the time we got to the coach departure point it was 15.15 and I still had to find the company that I'd bought the ticket off. Hopefully they could get me on another coach. I thanked the driver and donned my rucksack. I asked the first official bloke I saw for directions. He spoke English, in fact pretty much everyone did. He pointed me to the next building and I darted into the foyer which is where my paperwork told me to go. I asked the bloke behind a desk if he'd heard of the company on my printout. He started entering my booking details into his computer and said it wasn't his company. He hadn't heard of them. I felt defeated. I was starting to wonder if the company existed. Another bloke told me to head back the way I had come as there was another company along there. I dashed round the corner and saw another company nestled into a small office along the front. The name was close to the one on my printout but not exact. There was a man and a woman standing outside. I showed them my printout and asked if it was them. The man and woman spoke to each other in Malaysian then the woman went to her computer and tapped in a few things and looked at my piece of paper puzzled. I thought she was googling the company to find out where they were. I was getting a little anxious, because I still had to find the company if it wasn't them, when she handed my paperwork back to me. She said in English "Are you travelling alone?". I said "Yes". She said "I'll put you in seat 5C". "Pardon?" I said "Is the coach still here?". "Yes, it leaves at half past 3" she replied. My god I could have hugged her. The relief that I hadn't missed the coach was overwhelming. She pointed me in the direction and I put my rucksack in the coach luggage hold and realised the man from outside the office was the driver. I managed to catch up with myself and looked around me. Just next to the coach was a Papa John's pizzeria, a Dunkin Donuts, a Subway and the entrance to a big modern shopping centre. This was like america here. It wasn't until then that my hunger caught up with me too. My god was I starving, and thirsty. I asked the driver if I had time to get a drink and he nodded. I had 2 minutes. Water purchased I made my way onto the coach. I thought I was on the wrong bus. I was blown away. It was like first class seating inside. There were 3 seats per row across the coach. Two on the left side then the aisle and then one on the right side as you looked towards the rear. They were massive. Each one had controls to adjust recline, leg raise and foot rest position. And each one had a TV screen. I found my seat and settled in. This was easily done. They were sooooo comfortable. Worlds apart from the Vietnamese ones. And the seat was the same price! There were about 18 seats and only about 10 were filled. The coach soon started the journey and I chose my film, the latest Sherlock Holmes, and I just relaxed. It was bliss. The country rolled by and after about an hour and a half we stopped for a pee break. I seized my opportunity and bought a few items of food from a stall in the parking lot. Like a starving vagrant I devoured them in seconds. They were so good I went back for more. We didn't stop for long and were soon back on the road. I put my headphones back in, un-paused the film and lay back, with my hands behind my head and a big smile on my face. After a few more hours we stopped for a longer dinner break at a service station. The food wasn't bad but the chicken was a little questionable. Back on the coach and a few more miles under our belts the sun started to set. I had no problem falling asleep in this seat but was woken when the coach pulled over and everyone was getting off. I wasn't sure why we had stopped but once outside I realised we were crossing the border with Singapore and we had to pass through passport control. This one only required us to show our passports and so it didn't take long to get through. Our coach was the only one there. Back on the coach again and about half an hour later we had to get off once more. This time we needed to put our bags through security checks as well as a more stringent passport control. We had been given an immigration card to fill out when we'd got onto the coach, and on it were the usual boxes. First one 'Port of entry before this one', the second box 'Next port after this one'. For me, and for the first time ever, and probably the last, both boxes had the same answer...Kuala Lumpur. This would surely raise questions. 'Reason for visit' left me stumped as to what to put and 'length of stay' only gave me options in days. I ended up leaving most of it blank. I showed the woman my card, told her my story and she laughed. "That's fine" she said "don't worry about it". Baggage checks took seconds. The staff here were definitely in better spirits than the ones you get at the airports. Probably because they haven't got the volumes to deal with that airport staff do, but  it was still nice to see them smile. Bags loaded once more we settled back onto the coach. After another short period of time we were in the centre of Singapore. From what a lot of people say about Singapore there isn't much there to see, but I love the skyline. Especially at night when it's all lit up. And the whole city just seems to emanate light. Every street lamp and feature and decorative light works, leaving very few unlit areas. This makes the city feel very safe and everything is clean and well kept. The residents seem to care about where they live. I wish I could spend more time there. The coach soon pulled up at its final destination which seemed to be the main place that coach trips are arranged from in Singapore. There were plenty of people waiting for their coaches to depart and plenty of tour operators along the parade. I managed to find a money exchange place with no problems and an ATM after that. The airport was only 15 minutes away so wasn't going to cost much. Once I'd got the money I stood in the queue for a taxi, which had grown phenomenally since I'd arrived, and waited about 45 minutes till it was my turn. The queue snaked past a phone shop which gave me a chance to check out the prices to compare to home but surprisingly they weren't competitive at all. Nothing like they used to be. My cab finally arrived and I jumped in. "Where to" he said. "The airport please" I replied. "No problem. How long have you been here?" he asked. "About an hour" I replied. He nearly crashed in shock. And so ensued an explanation of what I was doing, with him trying to convince me to claim against the travel company and me trying to explain that I had already accepted the terms of travel. And it was just the way it was. To be honest I had really enjoyed the journey. I had absolutely nothing to complain about. I had got the chance to see another country and it certainly made me curious about visiting Kuala Lumpur in future. I'd had the chance to travel in a bit of luxurious comfort and style for a change. I'd also had time to properly relax and contemplate the whole of my Vietnam trip and really think about what I'd achieved. And I'd watched a couple of movies. What was there to moan about? Our conversation turned to the rest of my trip and eventually back to what I would miss by not staying for a day or two. At the end of the journey the cab driver told me to try a Singapore coffee before I left. A very interesting comment considering I'd said nothing about the Vietnamese coffee. Could we have a new contender? Was the coffee crown going to be stolen at the last minute from Vietnam by Singapore? I would definitely have to conduct a test in the airport, in the interests of fairness of course. I thanked the driver, paid him and said goodbye before collecting a luggage trolley and making my way into the airport. There was hardly a soul about. Singapore airport is pretty bloody big but it is pristine, and for now it was my playground. It was now about half 10 at night and my flight wasn't till half 6 tomorrow morning but there were certainly many worse places to be stuck for the night. I started the night by taking a long run up pushing my luggage trolley and jumping on the back of it to ride it for as far as possible before running out of momentum. It was hard not to shout weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! It was a bit too quiet for that. With that complete I made my way to the Malaysia Airlines desk to see if it was possible to check my luggage in early but no one was about and I was told they wouldn't be there till the first flight in the morning. So I sought out the customer service desk and enquired as to what there was to do in the airport at this time of night. The response was not much and most things were the other side of security, which I couldn't get through till after check in. I did, however, find out the best place to try a Singapore coffee and I obtained the password for the airport Wi-Fi so I checked in on Facebook and spent the time replying to posts and e-mails. I found time to change my clothes in amongst my busy schedule as I'd been travelling in these ones for nearly 20 hours and had the obligatory shower in a can for the other passengers sake. I found a left baggage desk and signed my main rucksack in for the night so there was less to keep an eye on during the night and I'd planned on having a snooze at some point. I checked out every nook and cranny of the airport to find the best place for a snooze and learnt the layout like the back of my hand. If this was Die Hard 2 I would definitely be your 'go to' guy. I then trotted along to the restaurant I'd been directed to to try the coffee and a Singapore laksa. Both the coffee and the laksa were really good and the coffee was different again but to be honest, the Vietnamese coffee still won hands down. It is still king! By now my main phone battery and my spare had been drained from the long journey and it was time to find a charging point. All the plug sockets in the airport had padlocks on preventing Joe public from using them so my only option was to head to Starbucks, order another coffee and drink it as slow as possible whilst using their sockets which they generously and conveniently positioned for such a purpose. It was past midnight and I made myself comfortable and sipped my coffee strategically but that isn't the end of my time at the airport......

The Viet Cong tunnels (4/3/14)

This morning I woke bloody early to get my bike over to Gary's hotel to get the sale I needed. I arrived shortly after 6am and found Gary waiting outside the hotel for me. The hotel was down a really narrow network of alleys which were just over a metre wide in places and were home to shops, hotels, hostels, businesses, people, you name it it could be found down these alleys. His Dad was just getting some coffee's and so Gary and I chatted about the bike till he came back. I reminded him what I'd had done to the bike since I had it and what else I was including with it, which was a lock, an extended luggage rack, a helmet, a spare spark plug, a very basic tool kit, and a very fetching green poncho, for two. His Dad returned, with a hangover, and Gary chatted about the bike with him and after a discussion Gary went for a spin on it. His Dad and I made small talk till he returned. I was ok till now as his dad was still with me but when he returned he told his dad to hop on and they went off together. Yes, I'll admit a small part of me wondered if I'd ever see the bike and them again but I'd hung on to the registration document so knew that if they did make a dash then the police would stop them somewhere and confiscate the bike. Hopefully anyway. After about 10 minutes of waiting I heard the familiar hum of the engine and they returned. Phew! "She certainly goes some doesn't she, quite feisty" Gary said on his return. This was promising. "Yeah she can hold her own I said", as much as a Vietnamese bike could I thought. "Here's the thing, Michael" Gary started and I immediately knew where this was heading, which was expected, "I found a website last night which I didn't realise exists and there are hundreds of bikes on there for sale". "There are loads of bikes out there" I admitted. There was no point pretending. Gary continued "so I'm going to offer you $200 for it". It wasn't a bad offer and certainly better than the one from HCM motorcycles. I pondered a while..I scratched my chin..I made a few 'umm' noises..I took a deep breath..I let out a deep sigh........I responded. "You see for me Gary the money is really important for the american part of my trip and the more I get now the better it will be once I get there. I'm not trying to make a profit just get back as much as poss. Would you go to $230?". "We've got to think about our budget too while we're here Mike" Gary said. "I'll go $220 final price"....Another deep breath from me.... "That's a steal at that price" I said "but ok you've got a deal". I needed the sale and that meant the bike only cost me $80 for my time here. That's certainly not bad. We shook hands. Deal. He checked the registration document and looked surprised to find out that that was all that was needed. By holding that piece of card you owned the bike. There's no 'Police, camera, action' PNR systems here! So that was it. I'd sold it. The bike and I were no longer an item. We had split up. My butt could reform a normal shape again. I didn't think I'd miss the bike and that selling it wouldn't be a problem because the last couple of days had caned my arse and it wasn't the most comfortable ride in the world, but suddenly a small part of me missed it. We'd been everywhere together and it hadn't let me down much at all. We had seen Vietnam like it should be seen. The back roads, the dirt tracks, the mountain passes, the beach paths, the villages, the people, the scenery. It had been an adventure. Not all good, but definitely not all bad. Like anything there are ups and downs and this journey had been testing but I'd do it all again. With at least one other person next time but definitely...I'd do it again. I discussed some route options with Gary and his Dad for a while but soon had to be on my way. I wished them luck on their journey and they said the same and we said our goodbyes. I should have brought my camera for that moment but it was too late. I thought afterwards I should have asked them to keep me updated on their progress too but again it was too late. Never mind. Onto the next adventure. Back at the hostel I quickly put the money in my locker and dashed down to eat breakfast. After that I got my bits for the day ready, knowing I wouldn't need much money except for entry to the tunnels and waited downstairs in the lobby for the coach to arrive. It arrived about half 8 and after a few stops at various hotels it was soon full and we were on our way. After about an hour and a quarter we stopped for a break and were told about the place we had stopped at. I have no idea where it was but it was basically a manufacturing facility where disabled people, who had been affected by agent orange, worked to raise money for themselves and other sufferers. Coaches of passing tourists was their main business and we were told our money would be greatly received. Ok, I thought, let's see what it is they do. We entered the premises and walked through the area where the disabled people create their products. This was eye opening as you got to see every stage of the process of making all the items. And it soon became apparent what it was they actually made. In short it's art and pottery, in various forms. The photo's show it better. At one station there are people gluing crushed egg shell onto plates in various shapes and patterns, then there are people cutting and scraping off the excess shell to give a clean edge. Another couple of people paint the plate and the egg shell. Another couple use a very fine sanding and polishing process to give the items a high gloss and another one cleans the items and protects them. On the other side of the room there are people drawing shapes onto mother of pearl pieces, another few sawing the shapes out, another group gluing these onto items and again the painting and polishing processes. Every part of the decorating process is done by hand. And the quality is outstanding. In the shop next door there is a sea of plates, pictures, trays, vases, pots, screens, all made using these methods.There were even two ceiling high giant vases that must have taken ages to complete. It was inspiring. I HAD to buy something to support it. But I'd only brought a small amount of money with me. I could have spent a fortune in there but most of it wouldn't have survived the journeys ahead. The prices weren't cheap but the products were worth every penny. I settled for a business card holder made of bamboo and inlaid with mother of pearl in the shape of two Vietnamese women with some other drawn on artwork around it. I just couldn't afford any more. My indecision made me the last one back onto the bus. Oops. Another eye opening experience. The rest of the bus journey took about another hour and we finally arrived at the Cu Chi tunnels. Our coach included a guide, who had been talking to us every now and then on the bus, and he arranged our tickets at the tunnels. It cost about 90,000 Dong as a tourist and 25,000 Dong if you were Vietnamese. His explanation for this was "welcome to Vietnam" with a cheeky grin. It would be nice if being English got me a discount at home but no such luck so why not have it here for the locals. They WERE on a lower wage. We started the day watching a video describing some of the war and it was so badly produced it was laughable. The video was narrated by a fairly monotone woman who's English accent was good and she was easily understandable, except for the really bad recording equipment used, but her vocabulary level wasn't so good. She used the phrase "killing american soldiers" about 8 times in one sentence, just because she didn't have any other way of saying it. Plus her voice was really high pitched, close to mickey mouse's. And just like the museum yesterday it was very one sided. After the video our guide took us around the area to show us various types of trap used by the Vietnamese, with some still working, as well as some of the original tunnel entrances which were absolutely minute. Some of the group had a go at getting in and it was clear that the Asians amongst us could do it far easier than the non Asians. One of the most interesting facts I found out was that the Vietnamese used tyres from the american vehicles to make shoes as they were waterproof and lasted longer than their own ones, plus their footprints left the same patterns as the american tyres and were less easily spotted by them. Genius. Part of the visit is the opportunity to shoot some weapons ranging from hand guns right up to AK 47's. It is about a pound a round but the minimum spend is 10 rounds and I didn't have enough money for that, which was a shame as that would have been a great experience. The noise from the range was deafening though and so I settled for videoing other people shooting whilst trying my best to cover my ears. After the range we got the chance to go down some of the tunnels. They were absolutely tiny, and incredibly hot and stuffy. You could just about shuffle along in a squat position but crawling was the best option. It was a large group so it took a while for everyone to get through and everyone came out sweating and panting. The Vietnamese would sometimes have to spend days down there which was a feat not to be sniffed at. It would have been torture. At its height the tunnel system stretched from Saigon to the Cambodian border. In the area of Cu Chi alone there were more than 200 km of tunnels! We were shown a few more exhibits depicting how the jungle area was used on the way back to the entrance but it was still hard to imagine the area exactly as it was as the forest had already started regrowing. It had taken many years of failed attempts as the agent orange effects were still taking their toll but a few years ago a re-planting effort had worked and the forest had been growing ever since. It was good to see. We got back to the coach about lunchtime and the journey back took about 2 and a half hours without stopping so we were back by 3 which gave me time to do some bits that afternoon. The journey to and from the tunnels had taken most of the day but I still think they were worth the visit. You hear so many stories about the tunnels and they are the stuff of legend so it was good to see them for myself. I got dropped a little way from the hostel so had to walk a short distance. My route took me past the HCM motorbikes shop/pub and Ben was in so I stopped by to buy him a beer and we sat and talked for a bit about the sale and where I was off to next. After the beer I thanked Ben again for his help and finished the short walk to the hostel. Back at the hostel I had a few things to sort out. I enquired about the best way to get to the airport and what time I'd need to leave to get there for half 7 and they said the bus was the cheapest option at 10,000 Dong but I would need to get the first one at about half 5 in the morning. A taxi would be about 200,000 Dong by comparison. I chose to get the bus and was shown where to get it from on a map which was only about a 10 minute walk away. I also had to settle my bill so I knew what money I had left for the journey to the airport tomorrow and dinner tonight and I had to pack as it was an early start. Once these bits were done it was time to embark on another journey to meet Huy at his coffee shop. His English name is actually Sam so I'll use that from now on. Second time lucky hopefully. I walked the same route as before and was soon at the same place I was at yesterday. In my email to him last night I'd asked him to include a Google map in his reply with a pin dropped on his location and it was indeed the opposite end of this street. I'd also brought my phone this time just in case. I finally arrived at his coffee shop about 20 minutes later than arranged as it had taken much longer to walk the street than I'd anticipated. I couldn't fully remember what he looked like but knew I'd recognise him if I saw him. Despite the fact they all look the same to me, jooooookkkkke, he wasn't there. His full Vietnamese name is Huy Ha Nhat (I think). So I tried asking for him using that name. Here's how the conversation went:

Me: "Hello"
Them: "Hello"
Me: "I'm looking for Huy"
Them: "Huy?"
Me: "Yes"
Them: Blank look
Me: "Huy Nhat"
Them: Blank look
Me: "Huy Ha Nhat"
Them: Blank look
Me: "Huy Ha...Ha Nhat...Nhat Huy...Nhat Ha...Nhat Huy Ha...Ha Huy Nhat...Nhat Ha Huy
Them: Confused look
Me: "Sam"
Them: "Oh Sam, he not here"

I stifled a laugh. They offered to call him but I said I'd text. I ordered an iced coffee and sat and let Sam know I was there. He replied saying he'd be two minutes and he soon turned up on his scooter. It was an odd situation, we'd met only once but were arranging things like old mates. The conversation flowed with no problems though and he asked loads about my journey to HCM. It turned out he part owns this coffee shop with his friend and his main job is working in a warehouse at the airport. I told him how much I loved the Vietnamese coffee and he disappeared into the back of his shop. He returned holding a coffee grinder which he said he had loads of and I was welcome to that one if I wanted it. I offered to pay for it but he insisted I have it and that my coffee was free too. A genuinely nice bloke. I told him to let me know if him and his wife were ever in London and I would return the gesture as best I could. After about an hour of chatting it was time for me to go. I asked him for a recommendation for somewhere for dinner and he showed me a place nearby on my map. I thanked him again and we said our goodbye's and I headed off in the direction of the restaurant. It was in the opposite direction from the hostel but had a nice walk along the river so I didn't mind. I found the restaurant which specialises in giant crepe type things with various fillings. I chose the pork and prawn filling which was very tasty and it was accompanied with the usual fresh herbs and salad. After the meal I made my way back to the hostel. It was over an hour walk but took in my surroundings as I went and stuck to the main roads again and was soon back at the hostel. As I'd done most bits already for my departure I spent the evening relaxing with Mikkel and Stefan in the chillout room upstairs. I printed some boarding passes, drank some beer and watched a movie. I'd done a fair bit of walking so was pretty shattered now. After the film I said goodbye to Mikkel and Stefan as I would be up before them in the morning and we swapped Facebook details and again the usual if you're in London chat. It was good to have met them on the way in to HCM as they had had a very similar experience to me travelling North to South and so we had a few things in common. It would be good to see them again one day. I said hello to the new room mates we now had, chatted with them briefly and prepared my stuff for as quiet a departure as possible in the morning and was soon in bed. So that was it, for the last time, goodnight Vietnam, it's been an experience.