Greetings from Hong Kong

Let me start out by saying Hong Kong is a hell of a long way from Dundas.
There is a 12 hour time difference, so I guess it's about half way around the world. As my friend Bill describes Hong Kong- it's New York City on steroids. Another big difference is that NYC is flat, while HK consists of nothing but hills. There are a lot of steps. I know!
You want to go shopping at 11 pm?; everything is open. It's only you and 8 million other people. I cannot think of one name brand store I haven't seen represented here. It's a shoppers' paradise.
The transportation system in HK is phenomenal. You can purchase an "Octopus" card, which is like a debit card. You load it up with a certain amount of money. When you get on any of the modes of transportation, you swipe the card and it automatically deducts the amount of the fare. On the subway you swipe on the way in and out. The cost is dependent on how far you travel. No tickets, no money for change. It's fantastic, and it works for all forms. I used it on minibuses, regular buses, the subway, trams, and ferries.
My favourite sights have been, oddly enough, religious in nature. I visited a Buddhist nunnery yesterday. It was on a hill, of course, but it is a series of large wooden buildings, beautifully constructed. No nails, no screws, everything fits together like a wooden puzzle, only huge.
It's hard to tell it's a nunnery, because they all have completely shaven heads, and loose brown robes. Unless you watch them go into the womens' side of the washroom you can't tell.
It is amazing to see such a peaceful building surrounded by 50 story apartment buildings.
The nunnery also has one of the most beautiful gardens I have ever see. Few flowers, but lovely rock formation, and bonsai trees.
In the afternoon I visited a Buddhist cemetery, and a Buddhist monastery.

The cemetery is interesting. Because of the cost of land, cemeteries are large rooms, lined with "drawers" for the cremated remains. There are dozens of these rooms, each with a couple of hundred remains. Family members visit and burn incense sticks. There are also large furnaces where family members can burn offerings. They use fake money to gain favours from their ancestral spirits. As a spirit I don't know how I would feel about being given monopoly money. I think I would prefer a few nice sandwiches, and maybe some new DVD's.
Another feature of this cemetery is that it's on top of a hill, with 500 steps to get there. It wasn't until I went down again that I discovered there was an elevator. I was wondering how some of the older people I saw at the top got there.
Right next to this cemetery was another monastery "The Monastery OF 10000 Buddhas". Another 500 steps up.

By the time I got to the top of that one I wasn't sure whether it was 500 steps and 10000 Buddhas, or 10000 steps and 500 Buddhas. It felt more like the second one. And they aren't kidding about the number of buddhas. They do come in all sizes, from much larger than human size to tiny images. The walk up is along a path which is lined with several hundred life-sized statues, in various poses and facial expressions. Each one is unique.
It was quite warm and humid, and I lay down for an hour or so after I got home.
For my last meal in HK Diane, Bill and I went to a Nepalese restaurant. Very good food.
I have been staying with friends of a friends, a lovely couple, Diane and Bill. They have been perfect hosts, and these few days have been great. I am sure that this level of luxury won't be reached for the rest of my trip. I am off to Hanoi later today, and that's where the real adventure will begin.
Till the next time
Ralf
PS If you want to leave comments. please feel free.

Greetings from the land of the Dong

Just a quick clarification. The "dong" is the currency of Vietnam.
It took 2 hours to fly from HK, and almost 2 hours to drive from the airport into Hanoi.
I took a minivan from the airport to the city, and as soon as I got in it reminded me of Guatemala. There were 14 of us in the minivan plus all the luggage, Crowded wouldbe an great understatement.
The other thing that reminded me of Guatemala was all the garbage along the roads. The air pollution, I think, is worse than Hong Kong. At night the sky turns a metallic bronze.
And the traffic is insane. That's the only way to describe it. Think about rush hour traffic in any Canadian city, and then add a thousand motor scooters to all the cars. I kid you not. There are intersections like Yonge and Bloor, but no traffic lights. Nobody stops, traffic just weaves in and out. It is unbelievable that I did not see one accident. When you cross a road you just start to walk at a steady pace. You don't want to look towards the oncoming traffic. It would scare the hell out of you, and they would see the fear in your eyes; which is never a good thing.
I love it here though. The vitality of the city is unbelievable. And the motorscooters are priceless. You see everything from families of four, on one scooter, to ladies in fancy dresses and high heels, weaving in and out like professional motorcycle racers. And the loads some of them carry. I saw on that had about 40 flats of eggs hanging on the back. A flat is 12 by 12 eggs.

I did have one interesting interaction. A very beautiful lady in a red dress, with a slit up to her neck, high heels and all, stopped and asked if I was interested in a massage. Unfortunately (or maybe not) I hadn't been to an ATM yet.
That was another experience. I did go to one later, and withdrew 12 000 000 dong. Instant millionaire. The reality though is that's only about 600 dollars. The dong is not large. And size does matter. I did not encounter the lady in red on the way back.
I did have a great dinner. 8 spring rolls and a bottle of Tiger beer. My kind of meal. And all for 4 bucks.
My hotel room is right in the old city, there is a safe ( the kind to store money) in my room, air conditioning, mini fridge, fresh fruit, and beakfast included, all for 40 dollars.
As I said I love it here.
Tomorrow it is time to venture forth and discover Hanoi.
Wish me luck
Ralf

My second day in Hanoi

I had a very fortunate experience this morning. As I was walking I heard some music, and I followed my ears. I came across a street festival, which featured lion dancers, groups of ladies doing fan dances, tai chi (?), and martial arts exhibitions (not by the ladies). It turned out it was a celebration at a temple, and the occasion was the birthday of the founder of the temple. The ceremonies lasted about 2 hours, and it was great entertainment.
I also went to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum. He is the country's most adored citizen, like Lenin in Moscow and Attaturk in Turkey. His body is preserved and on show 10 months of the year. The other two months he is in Moscow getting a facelift, and a formaldehyde refill. I had no intention of viewing the body, but it is in a huge park, and there is security all over the place. You can't just wander around, you basically follow the crowd. Because I hadn't expected to see the body I didn't check my camera at the security office, but I found myself in line to see the body. I was hoping I wouldn't get caught, and I didn't. He does look good for somebody who has been dead a few years.

The most amazing thing about Hanoi is the traffic. I know I have said this before, but I have to repeat it. It is more thrilling than any Disney ride. At one point you feel like Moses parting the Red Sea, the next you think you are a torreador in a bull fight arena. I had a coffee in a restaurant with a balcony, and I just watched the traffic for half an hour. It was like an RCMP Musical Ride, with motorcycles and cars weaving around each other.
Absolutely amazing.
The trick is not to look at the traffic, just look straight ahead and walk at a steady pace. You certainly must learn to have faith in your fellow human beings.
The weather today was much nicer, it was cool, and very pleasant. I have yet to see the sun on this trip. The air is so bad, the sun can't get through. There are a lot of people with face masks.
One more day in Hanoi then it's off the the northeast of Vietnam.
Till the next time
Ralf

Ralf gets a haircut

There are some "crafts"villages near Hanoi. I tried to decide whether to go to the "snake" or the "silk" village.The specialty of the "snake" village is to raise snakes for the specialty restaurants in the area. The description of a typical meal in Le Mat goes like this, I quote one of the guidebooks.
"  Usually the cook presents the live cobra at the table either tied to a stick, or held by a helper. First he cuts the snake's neck, allowing the warm blood to gush out and fill a glass. Then he slices its stomach and removes a small green balloon-like venom sac, pouring it into another glass. The heart is next; the cook makes an incision a little higher, carefully cutting out the snake's still beating heart, and presents the tiny organ on a plate or in a glass of rice whiskey. The snakes venom is blended with its urine and some more rice whiskey.The brave can down the glass and its living contents. Quite the cocktail, eh.
The rest of the snake is then cooked and presented to the table."
I decided to go to the silk village, Van Phu. I took local buses, and that is quite a challenge when you can't read the signs, and nobody speaks English. But I did persevere, and I did reach it. It was not what I expected. This village is well known for the handmade silk, and the silk sold at the boutique shops in Hanoi almost all come from there. So I thought it would be touristy, sort of like St. Jacobs, a little out in the country. Not in Vietnam. Even though it's listed as 7 km from Hanoi, it is simply a small part of the urban sprawl, actually "urban slum" would be a better description. I never saw another tourist, on the way there, while I was there, and the way back. There were some nice silk pieces, very reasonable, and I actually did some shopping.

The other interesting adventure was that I passed a barber who had set up shop on the sidewalk. I needed a haircut, so I sat down and got a haircut. The good news is that it was only a buck fifty, the better news is that I won't need a haircut for six months. The only bad news is that I might have a problem getting through passport control; they might not recognize the photo as being me.
I did another brave thing today. I took a "xe om", which is a motorcycle taxi, and interprets as "I want to die young, riding a motorcycle, hopefully with a scared shitless Westerner on the back". I think the guy thought I was gay, I was holding on so tightly. Beats any rollercoaster ride I have been on, and is cheaper, even if you include the cleaning bill for the pants.
This is my last night in Hanoi for a few days. I am off to the "Wild North". I am hoping for electricity, but I doubt I will see a lot of internet, so if you don't hear from me in a while that is the reason.
I was thinking today, as I wandered like a lost cloud, thank goodness I am doing this while I am still yound. I don't think I'll be doing this in twenty yeras.
Have fun
Ralf

Reporting from Ha Giang

It has been quite an adventure the last couple of days.
The bus terminal that I went to in Hanoi had only one bus a day to Ha Giang, and it leaves at 3 am. (I later found out there was another terminal with more buses to Ha Giang). So I took a cab to the station at 2, and everything was locked up. There was only me, standing with my bags, and a dozen or so rats cavourting around. I didn't make any friends.
At 2:45 there appeared a man, who opened one of the buses. It was a 20 seat minibus. I noticed the back seat was taken up by 2 huge truck tires. As we drove to Ha Giang we picked up more and more passengers, and their packages. One man came aboard with a large wheelbarrow. Not something you would see in good old Canada. By the time we neared Ha Giang we had THIRTY (I counted) passengers, bags all over the place, people sitting on the bags. It was quite a sight.

We arrived in Ha Giang at 10:30 am. Ha Giang City is the capital of Ha Hiang province. There is absolutely no tourist information there. No office, no maps, no-one to that speaks English. I went to 3 hotels to ask for travel information. No luck. The Lonely Planet had mentioned a Tourist Office. I found the street, but no office. I went into one of many cell phone places, and by pointing asked the man to call the number in the guide book. It was out of service. One of the many motorcycle taxi guys tried to help me, and actually took me to a Travel Agency. A very nice lady told me that the only way I could travel further north to see the sights I wanted to see was to rent a motorcycle. There was no way I was going to drive a motorcycle on these roads, with this traffic, with no maps. The other option was to hire a motorcycle and driver, me on the back. It would be a 2 day trip.

I really started to have doubts about this whole Northern Experience, but I really didn't want to chicken out, so I made the arrangements. Her younger brother who spoke some English was to be my driver.
The other thing about Ha Giang. There are no restaurants. NONE. There are a lot of hole-in-the-wall places. I tried one, but had no luck communicating, and I left.
Dinner was a can of tuna and a baguette. But it was the most expensive can of tuna they had.
My hotel room was like the one in Hanoi, without the safe, telephone, mini fridge, computer in the room, air conditioning, and free fruit. Otherwise the only diffeence was one of the hardest mattresses I ever slept on. But I did have a great sleep, and the room was 9 dollars.
Another funny thing I have noticed is that the rooms in the hotels all have very high ceilings, over 10 feet. What is curious is that the average Vietnamese is less than 5 foot 6.
To continue..The next morning I stored my bag at the travel agency, and we were off at 7 am, Son, the driver and I. After about 2 hours we stopped at a town which had a Sunday market. It was great. The local hill tribes all come, and it is as much a social gathering as a market. The costumes are fabulous. Very bright colours, and great head wears. I hope the photos turn out. I actually sat down at one of the stalls, and had a bowl of Pho, the Vietnamese staple. It was great.
The roads are basically one lane, which makes it interesting when you meet, or pass, a truck. I just closed my eyes and had faith in Son.
We stopped for lunch and I had some of the toughest chicken I have ever eaten. I think it was left over from the War. I ate the rice, it's good with some Soya sauce. As we were leaving it started to rain. We put on our ponchos, and off we went. Luckily the rain stopped after half and hour or so.
I have to say the scenery was fantastic.

Everything is quite hazy. I think it's smog. Most of the locals still cook with wood, they burn their garbage, and they still use "burn and slash" agriculture. They use every imaginable piece of land for growing rice, corn, and greens. Step hills are terraced, and flooded to grow rice. And everything has to be done by hand. No electricity in the back country.
Another cute sight..a teenage girl tending 3 water buffalos at the side of the road, talking on her cell phone.
I am off to bed, another slab of marble.

Hope you are all enjoying these tales. Leave comments if you so wish. There is room at the bottom of each of the blogs for this.
By the way I sure missed my Friday Williams coffee.

Back in Ha Giang

The adventure is over, and aside from a sore bum I am fine.
And it was quite the adventure.

The scenery was spectacular, beautiful mountains, the Vietnamese Alps. The climate is milder, otherwise I would have really frozen my buns off. Even at 15 it is chilly on a bike.
 As we left Ha Giang, the land was somewhat level, and there were a lot of rice padddies. This is the season where they start to plant, and lots of farmers were in the paddies, plowing, underwater, the paddies with water buffalos and wooden plows. Others were planting the rice, one plant at a time, underwater. Bending over all day long must be tough.
As we started to climb the paddies were more and more terrased into the hillsides. It must have been unbelievable carving out the terraces, but I imagine it took centuries, not years. There were also corn fields and other vegetables grown.
The most fascinating part of the trip was to see the hill tribes. They are ethnically different from the Vietnamese, and have a very basic style of living. Subsistence agriculture. At their elevation there are no animals larger than small goats. There are also a lot of chickens, and dogs. I would guess some of those dogs ends up as part of the menu. We stopped at a local market, and it was quite different from the one on Sunday. Fewer meat stalls, some goats for sale, basic grains, corn, beans, rice, vegetables and fruit, but not the selection fron further down. And junk food. There are also stalls selling clothing, and everything else you can think of.
Most of the people live in small groups of homes, up on a hillside, wooden and stone structures. No electricity, everything uses wood, for heating, for cooking. You see a lot of people along the road, carrying bundles of wood. The main mode of transportation is walking. It is too hilly for bikes, and very few can afford a motor bike.

Except for the plastic utensils I imagine this hasn't changed for a few hundred years.
The people are tiny. At the market I don't think I met anyone taller then me. And the women are about a foot shorter.
On the way back we had a great lunch. 3 egg omelet, fantastic chicken soup, rice, and even french fries. I have developed a taste for Soya sauce. Great on rice or even on french fries. 3.50 total.
We made it back to Ha Giang in the afternoon, and I rested my sore cheeks for a while. Ha Giang is a fairly large city, but I still haven't found a restaurant. I also haven't been able to have a cup of coffee for 3 days. The tea they serve here is very strong and bitter. There isn't one place in town that sells postcards, and there are some beautiful sceneries to have on a card.

The people are very polite and friendly. I haven't seen one example of yelling or screaming, or road rage. They are tidy. They sweep they front and the side walk in front of their houses. Women, pulling large carts, then collect the garbage. The problem is that there is a lot of dust, and that isn't picked up, so it is simply moved around. There is also a lot of exhaust from the bikes.
These bikes by the way are no Harley's. There are 110 cc bikes. That's what I travelled on.
The other problem is the wood fires. All along my 2 day trip there were continuous fires along the mountains. Slash and burn agriculture. Then there are the cooking fires. Even in Ha Giang the restaurants use wood fires for the cooking they do. I have seen several cases where residents burned their garbage on the sidwalk in front of their homes, on the main street in Ha Giang.
And one more note. If the Ontario Food inspectors were to hit Ha Giang, there wouldn't be ONE restaurant or market open.

Anyway, I am off on another 8 hour bus ride back to Hanoi.
Till the next time
Ralf

March 31 Back in Hanoi

Well it has been a week, and what a week.
Some general impressions.
Sidewalks are primarily for  parking motorbikes. They are also used as eating places, selling just about anything; everything except pedestrians. I guess that's what roads are for.
I have never seen such airpollution. When I was in Hong Kong the big news was the smog. HK is much better than Vietnam. The only time I have seen the sun is through a bronze filter. I don't think all the motorbikes help. Add to this the fact that a lot of people smoke I can't imagine the rate of lung cancer here.
Houses are quite different here. They are very narrow, about 10 feet across, but very deep, and 3 story high. The front doors are like patio doors, and open up the entire width of the house. The front room on the first floor is the living room, TV, and eating area. In the evenings the doors are open and you can see the household. And of course this is the room where you park your motorbike.
Today will be a day of rest, just walking and shopping. I have found a laundry that charges 1 dollar per kg. I am going to splurge.
Adieu
Ralf