14.5.07
downpour of vietnam
not so sure i went in knowing what to expect. so far it has been a trip of haggling, heat exhaustion and alot of afternoon and daytime drenches that no umbrella/raincoat could possibly work. cat ba island was nice, picturesque, as we kayaked for 2 days (ends up to be a few hours in total though!) but went to a beautiful lagoon that was only accessible through low tide. there were red coral around there and we tried REALLY REALLY hard not to whack it with our paddle. the same could not be said about the red jellyfish and the humungous jellyfish 40cm in diameter. i think ken and i pissed it off pretty badly coz it dived after we gave it a pat on the head with the good ol' paddle.
our flight to hoi an got delayed by 2 hours and it was not pleasant.
we haggled some taxi drivers for $10usd to get us shuttled from airport to hotel. alternatively, if all else fails, we could get a definite taxi for 20000 vd. one taxi driver said "ok" and we lugged everything into the boot. he drove literally 2 blocks outside the airport to some dark alleyway where there was another taxi waiting. he told us to get off and go to the other taxi...and proceeded to throw our luggage into the other taxi.
i feel like i was some illegal immigrant or illegal produce being trafficked. but it all worked out. about 40 or so minutes later we arrived at our hotel. hoi an trails resort is a lovely place, despite the lack of water pressure or the short tempered hot water system. but hey, with weather like this, who needs hot water?
tailoring clothes and shoes turned out to be a very tiresome duty every tourist seems to have to go through, and chances are you won't turn out with the best stuff on earth. i'm ok with mine, but must admit, i could get similar for the price i was paying, but just cut less to my figure. it's not the best, and i think i'll leave real tailor jobs to people who are much much much more up to date with their styles and cutting methods. i was shocked to see some of the things they did. and we complain for workers union and all against sweatshops in oz...but we saw one over here - same conditions as a sweatshop. but they seemed quite ok with it. the levels here are very different, and we must try to assume less and compare a developing nation with our standards. thinking now i reckon it's not so bad that people work at sweatshops, as long as their wage is good enough for them to support themselves in the country they live in.
prices of things here is a bit of a disappointment however. it seems that their tourism has ballooned out from jetstar flights or the general opening of tourism in a big way, that the prices have been driven up, yet the quality hasn't caught up, and more frequently than not, you're better off buying the same stuff in thailand, at better quality and bargaining that didn't have to feel ugly and tasteless. but hey, that's totally my loss for not being able to haggle and tell them i think their stuff doesn't look as good as some guy in the next town.
we did trek to marble mountain. not trek, but more like...motorbike it and then walked up those mighty steep steps. the whole mountain was marble. i loved the way the statues were carved out of the caves there, still stuck on the mountain. however, some insistent and non-english speaking guide tainted my experience just a little. and the ladies trying to sell me incense, telling me it's all for luck. i wasn't too pleased to hear that that, but we just kept walking along. then it started pouring down. we think our rains are bad? think buckets full of rain pouring down the mountain, creating an instant river down the rough stairs. think instant water supply to all the farms and relieving the drought situation in NSW...(ok, maybe not that much, but it was only for 2 hours and literally, i am soaked through with a raincoat and umbrella on me)
anyway,
i'm feeding too many mozzies.
write soon
abb
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our flight to hoi an got delayed by 2 hours and it was not pleasant.
we haggled some taxi drivers for $10usd to get us shuttled from airport to hotel. alternatively, if all else fails, we could get a definite taxi for 20000 vd. one taxi driver said "ok" and we lugged everything into the boot. he drove literally 2 blocks outside the airport to some dark alleyway where there was another taxi waiting. he told us to get off and go to the other taxi...and proceeded to throw our luggage into the other taxi.
i feel like i was some illegal immigrant or illegal produce being trafficked. but it all worked out. about 40 or so minutes later we arrived at our hotel. hoi an trails resort is a lovely place, despite the lack of water pressure or the short tempered hot water system. but hey, with weather like this, who needs hot water?
tailoring clothes and shoes turned out to be a very tiresome duty every tourist seems to have to go through, and chances are you won't turn out with the best stuff on earth. i'm ok with mine, but must admit, i could get similar for the price i was paying, but just cut less to my figure. it's not the best, and i think i'll leave real tailor jobs to people who are much much much more up to date with their styles and cutting methods. i was shocked to see some of the things they did. and we complain for workers union and all against sweatshops in oz...but we saw one over here - same conditions as a sweatshop. but they seemed quite ok with it. the levels here are very different, and we must try to assume less and compare a developing nation with our standards. thinking now i reckon it's not so bad that people work at sweatshops, as long as their wage is good enough for them to support themselves in the country they live in.
prices of things here is a bit of a disappointment however. it seems that their tourism has ballooned out from jetstar flights or the general opening of tourism in a big way, that the prices have been driven up, yet the quality hasn't caught up, and more frequently than not, you're better off buying the same stuff in thailand, at better quality and bargaining that didn't have to feel ugly and tasteless. but hey, that's totally my loss for not being able to haggle and tell them i think their stuff doesn't look as good as some guy in the next town.
we did trek to marble mountain. not trek, but more like...motorbike it and then walked up those mighty steep steps. the whole mountain was marble. i loved the way the statues were carved out of the caves there, still stuck on the mountain. however, some insistent and non-english speaking guide tainted my experience just a little. and the ladies trying to sell me incense, telling me it's all for luck. i wasn't too pleased to hear that that, but we just kept walking along. then it started pouring down. we think our rains are bad? think buckets full of rain pouring down the mountain, creating an instant river down the rough stairs. think instant water supply to all the farms and relieving the drought situation in NSW...(ok, maybe not that much, but it was only for 2 hours and literally, i am soaked through with a raincoat and umbrella on me)
anyway,
i'm feeding too many mozzies.
write soon
abb
Post a Comment