The End

While walking back to your hotel from touring around the Old Quarter of Ha Noi, Thomas asked me if I was getting depressed about leaving soon and I said, "Yes!" It has been a wonderful trip inspite of not accomplishing all I wanted to do and inspite of having to abandon my hotel project. Still I met many new friends and had a great time with old ones and my relatives.



This is Karen from the UK.



This is Erik and his fiance Trang. The rest of these are from all over the country.




An Huu-my home town on a branch of the Mekong River.



Lan Ha Bay, the southern part of the greater Ha Long Bay. The small, gold cliff on the right is where we deep water solo'd.



The Old Quarter of Ha Noi.

This is the video from Saigon that took me forever to load earlier. It's of my Aunt at the market.



This is a view of Hoan Kiem Lake in Ha Noi.



The rest of these are from Hoi An during the "Night of the Old Town" or "Full Moon Festival".

More Ha Noi

It was sad leaving Cat Ba but luckily most of us met up in Ha Noi again, all except for Luke, the Aussie. Not only did my new mates and I leave, the entire staff of SloPony also headed for Ha Noi. We don't what Luke did with the rest of his time there.

I was making my way home. Sarah and Brooke were making their down to Hoi An. This was us having an early dinner at Bun Cha Hang Mang, a famous local restaurant serving a heaping portion of the local dish, Bun Cha. Basically it's barbequed meets served in a lemony, sweet sauce-but not Nouc Mam, eaten with your basic vegie jungle and rice noodle.




Thomas was going to Sapa, northwest, for a couple days before flying back to Switzerland.



This is Thomas having the same dish but at a street stall. Not suprising this was better than the restaurant.




And the SloPony crew were coming out for a rally of Minsk motorbikes, called the Minks Olympics. Erik and his fiance Trang are having Bun Bo Hue here, also at a street stall. Trang is from down in Hue, the former imperial capital in the middle of the country, and of course is a connoisseur of the dish. I thought it wasn't too bad for being so far north.

Later the next day, Bi and Clint came out with eventually Anslo, the other owner of SloPony with Erick. It was Erik's birthday the next day so we decided to celebrate early, since we were all together at the same place. Bi and Clint came to Cat Ba to go climbing last winter. Liked it so much that they returned to Australia, sold off a bunched of stuff and moved back Cat Ba. They're working as guides for SloPony.





Erik's goal was to hit 28 bars that night but by the time we meet up with him things were slowing down. We just had too much fun together and forgot that Erik wanted to bar hop his birthday. Bar hopping in this little part of the city was great fun too. We'd literally walk next door and there would be another bar with a different theme.

Ha Noi

This is Ha Noi. I had heard that it was crazy before arriving and it was. Having only gone straight from the airport to the bus terminal on my way to Cat Ba, now seeing it again really for the first time in three years I'd have to agree with other's assesment. Compared to Saigon though, this isn't too bad. Like Saigon, the number of cars on the streets have increased dramatically. They really do clog up the otherwise zen flow of the motorbikes. Check this rig!



I've spotted Audi G7's and many a Lexus'. It's incredible that these do exist here in Vietnam as the import duties have caused these prices to almost quadruble what they are in Europe or the US.



This is Isabelle and Christoph. They're Rick's cousins. Rick had this romatic notion that his relatives are working as spies in Vietnam, with the hopes of overthrowing the Communist government. In reality, Christoph works for the UN helping Vietnam to better its social and economic standings in the world. He told me that within the last few years, Vietnam's poverty level as dropped to 60% of the population from 75%.This is defined as the number of people earning less than $1 a day. I forgot to ask if they'd be moving that barometer up any time soon as the $1 is not worth what it used to.

Earlier talking to Eric and Onslo about the economic climate out on Cat Ba, I found out that things are really grim there for the locals. Growth and development has brought more money for the island but only for a few, top teared business people. Now that prices have inflated, blamed on by the current high cost of fuel, locals have had to pay more for goods and not having any opportunity to earn more. The tourists that come mostly stay or patronize advertised, recommended establishments. I guess this is what eco-travellers say when they ask us all to support local businesses.

I don't have a picture here unfortunately but Thomas and I found a great little Pho house just a few buildings down from where we stayed in Cat Ba, where SloPony is based. I'd have to say that it makes top 5 honors of "The Best Pho House that Linh Has Ever Been To" list. The broth was excellent and the service top notch for Vietnam, as good if not better than the service we get in the US. I readily turned Onlso to the place and he agreed. In return the SloPony guys turned me on to their local haunts.

Anyway, more on North Vietnamese food in a second......

Cat Ba Island

I'll post some more videos from the "Night of the Old Town" soon when I have a better connection but I wanted to write about climbing on Cat Ba first. Cat Ba Island lies near Ha Long Bay. Actually it is now a regular stop for tour boats taking travelers thru Vietnam's most prized UNESCO World Heritage Site. Around a year and half ago a couple of Americans from the Eastcoast decided to come here to open a business of developing the cliffs and leading guided trips.

Eric and Anslo just two months ago got the official nod, complete with business license, to operate their SloPony adventures out in a wing of Ha Long and on Cat Ba Island.

www.slopony.com

Remember how I was going to tell you about me being relieved at abandoning my hotel project? Eric and Onslo had been working on their project for well over a year before getting established and they did it while living here, mind you they didn't have to build anything! Their reports of red tape and confusion made me admire their perseverance but never once was I envious. They've got two areas developed and about 50 routes bolted.

The first area are these two beaches facing one another out in the bay. You can see Onslo on a 5.10d. These areas are perfect for beginners offering 5.7's and 5.8's, at a pristine location. The day we went here Onlso had a group of about 7. I was with my new mates Thomas from Switzerland, and Luke, Brooke and Sarah from Australia. While Onslo's crew climbed at one beach we were at the other. We all ate lunch together before switching sides. It was great fun, eventhough the sun was a little warm.

At the end of day Thomas said that we should try deep water soloing. I was a bit reluctant having have spent too many years hanging on. But in the end almost the entire boat joined in. Yours truly got up about 35 feet then backed down to about 20 feet before jumping off, after a great deal of encouragement and cajoling. Thomas the instigator lobbed off at over 40!

'

Another location developed is Butterly Valley, on the island itself. Here are a couple photos of the cliff. Sorry there aren't more as I was busy climbing. I'll email the other folks to see if they have any pics I can post. The rock is excellent and the routes evenmore so.

Hotel Project

As I was making my way up to Hoi An I was beginning to get the feeling that my dream of the hotel project was slowly slipping away. Reports of rising costs of steel, concrete and other building supplies foretold what I didn't want to hear. While last year all of my friends were eager to help with my plans this year all they wanted to do was talk about Duy's passing and my Mom's health. The bad news was going to be delivered by the Minister of Tourism.

This took some courage from me-knowing what the answer was but having to hear it for myself. So, I called the office of Tourism and scheduled an appointment to meet Mr. Truong Van Bay. At first I expected it be difficult and it was a little difficult because I didn't know what he looked like. After waiting for an hour he arrived and was waved down by some folks at the office telling of my meeting. Once I mentioned that I'm friends with the late Tu Duy he smiled and invited me in.

He said that since he had not heard from me he had to give the piece of land away to a company by the name of Dac Viet. They want to build on this plot a 5 star resort. (The arrow on the above map pointing to very location.) He said though that I should look for another place and come back to him with my ideas, but by then my enthusiasm had already waned. He even suggested a couple of locations but I had quickly done some arithmatic and determined that my budget for the project would need to be almost tripled in order to build with the current and rising construction costs. My friends later told me that I'd need at least $1.5 million first to even consider my plans again.

Needless to say I'm hugely disappointed and midly relieved.....more on the being relieved later....

So, loading videos has been somewhat of a challenge. I lost about 2 hours yesterday waiting for too big of a file to upload. This is one is a little smaller. Let's hope it works. The weather down in Saigon was the coolest it's ever been for me. The rains came 3 weeks earlier than normal, which is the same in Thailand and which maybe explain the cyclone in Burma. People here are very aware of climatic changes. I guess Al Gore's movie showed here over the winter so this idea is on everyone's minds. I'll have to say that it was nice though-the rain. I'd often go out with my cousins after dinner when the streets are still damp from the late afternoon downpour. Water dropplets on my skin and clothing with the help of the wind from the speed of the motorbike conduct away the heat.















Another fun, first thing I did while in Saigon was to visit the country's first artificial wall. This wealthy entrepreneur opened up a supermarket cum amusement park complete with a pool and a mountain of a waterfall. When he heard about a Canadian climber looking to build a climbing wall he solicited his help. They closed up the piping for the water falls and bolted on climbing holds and anchors. Ken Fudge, who runs the wall is experiencing good turn outs from tour groups and local international schools. He's even helped train the Vietnamese mountaineering team that recently summited Everest. The entire expedition was televised weekly in a game show/reality TV fashion at no less a spectacle than we would. At this wall though I was able to climb their hardest route and their project. Both at the easy 5.11 range. Climbing up north though would be different story.....

Hoi An

This is a short video of Hoi An on "Dem Pho Co",or night of the old time, also refered to as the Full Moon Festival. These are paper candles floating in the river. I'll get some more longer videos up later as the internet line right now is slow.(School has just let out and all the kids are on line playing video games!)





On the 14th day of the lunar month locals flock into the city to celebrate its heritage. For those of you who may not know this already, it was the first port town in all of Vietnam and the different cultures that have traded with Vietnam have left their architechural imprint. Luckily the wars did little damage to the city, as it wasn't very strategically important, and sometime in the early 90's the United Nations gave the town its World Heritage Site status, providing money for restoration and preservation. I took very few photos here for the streets are completely torn up in preparation of submerging all electrical wires. Also, I used to walk around with Duy and it's not really the same this time.

I did sample some of the more high end restaurants in town to find that the food and the service have improved dramatically, which is great for travelers. The service at restaurants that locals frequent, though, have not. Here are a couple pictures of a Binh Dan, losely translated as "common people", restaurant. Notice the low chairs, low tables, tight eating arrangement and trash on the ground. This is to contrast the pictures of the new restaurant trends in Saigon in the earlier post.

Da Nang

I'm now in Da Nang. Instead of normally flying into this city and heading straight to Hoi An, I decided to spend the night and visit my late friend's family. This shot is of his funeral altar at his home. For now and forever, there will be an altar at his home and he will be remebered every month on the 14th day of the Lunar calendar. They will burn effigy, place an extra setting at the dinner table and burn incense for him. Then on the anniversary of his death they will throw a great big party.

(It's interesting how much the Vietnamese worship and remember their ancestors but have completely forgiven the French and Americans for the wars that were fought on these soils.)

At Tu Duy's house I hung out with Minh, Duy's son. He's been a little stressed recently as his mother has also taken ill. He's enrolled in college up the coast little bit in Hue. He's promised to have a scooter ready for me for my next trip back to Vietnam.

I brought a new lense for his father, for us to shoot with but now I had hoped that he could use it. He suggested that it would be fair trade, not that I was trading Duy anything for the lense, for a vintage scooter that I wanted.













Before Duy's passing he got very prolific with his artwork making 200 paintings within the span of three months. He also purchased this mini-jeep to haul around his artwork and to go on trips. He had planned on going to Pleiku, in the hills southwest of Hoi An. He spent three months getting a driver's license, failing the test twice. And, before his death he was only able to drive the jeep twice.

Minh called a friend with a driver's license and we took the jeep down to Hoi An. It would be his first trip to Duy's gallery since Duy's passing.

Scooters

So, for a while there I had all eyes peeled for a semi-vintage scooter. I asked the guys at the local climbing wall, a couple of my expats friends that are living in Saigon and family. My immediate family members though were unenthusiastically searching, fearing my eminent trials upon touring, even if I were to get a bike. In the end I did find all these at one area in the city. Most of them were well restored and even well copied versions.


















The bike I want is the last one on the right in this picture. It's from the late 80's to early 90's I think-not vintage enough to be collectable but still has that modern yet vintage look I'm after. In fact, Vespa's recent bikes are of this retro design. Anyway, they're not too expensive. This one was about $400 but it had no paperwork.









Anyway, no bike touring this trip....booo.....hoooo for me and a big "whew!!!" for my family.

Did I say that the traffic was super knarly this time around? There are way more cars and of course more motorbikes. The cars are constant emboli clogging the once nice arterial flow of the city.

More from Saigon

Here's a footage of everyday life in the city. Farmer's markets are everywhere here and my Aunt makes daily trips just before going to work. This one is literally across the street from her house, where I'm staying. As you can see, all the food is fresh, from the swimming fish to the squirming eels. The fruit was picked within the last couple days and the meat was butchered that morning, as you might me able to notice the lack of refrigeration. This freshness is what makes the food so tasty. After this trip to the market I met up with my Cousin, Thanh. She and I were born in the same town, under the same roof but years apart. She is the child of my Uncle, who is my Mom's younger brother. She sells insurance in the city. We had lunch at this restaurant here called Com Ga Cali. These newer restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City offer a really nice, modern atmosphere-complete with matching table ware and decorations. The food is between $4-$5 where the "peoples" restaurants-not as nice, dishes are around $1-$2. (Prices here have really inflated over the last 12 months....More about that later.) They remind me of how in Little Saigon in Westminster, California there too is a trend to upgrade the decor and service of those restaurants too. I had a bowl of chicken curry with a baguette. Ummmm!!!!!

Mien Tay (The West)

This is an approach into my home town from the West. I was born next to this river within this market, Cho An Huu.




A little ways west of An Huu is this first major Mekong River crossing from Saigon.



The second major crossing of the Mekong-the largest, is still serviced by ferry, to the city of Can Tho-the biggest city The West. In the distance the largest bridge in all of Vietnam is being built, and some time last year one of these central pillars collapse killing over a hundred people. Goes to show how much it cost to conquer nature. It will be a few years yet until this bridge is complete.


I came over to Can Tho to visit one of three floating markets. My friend and I got there in the late morning so not too much was happening. I guess it's busy in the morning when locals meet to shop and late in the afternoon when tourist boats congregate. Still it was pretty cool.













At this hour there were only fruits left. Each boat hangs the fruit of it's stock to advertise. We bought 4 kilos of Rambutan, for 25,000 Vietnamese Dongs, which translates to about $1.75.

I often spend the early parts of these trips visiting my family, paying respect lets say. All we really do is eat and spend time talking about what to have for the next meal. (By now they know how my life is in the US so no need to talk about that.)

I hope you find these pictures and videos enjoyable. I wish that I had a better digital camera. I'm not very inspired to shoot pictures with this little thing but the videos turn-out fun.

By the way, don't worry that I'm taking these videos while driving. I don't dare do that. I'm riding in the back.

More from Saigon soon before I head up to Hoi An.

Tu Duy

Some time on the day of my arrival "in country" my dear friend Duy passed away. Duy was a well respected artist in the Da Nang/Hoi An community. He managed one of the larger galleries in old town Hoi An.

I first met Duy when I entered his newly restored art gallery about 5 years ago. What drew me in initially was that I had photographed the house several years back during its restoration and wanted to see how it turned out, but it was his photography book on display that really caught my eye. (Several of you received these as gifts from that trip.) It was full of abstract pictures of the city-my favorite kinds of photos.

In the last several years we've become really good friends, often taking walks around the city and countryside with our cameras and pontificating about ideas to get me back to Vietnam more frequently. He was a champion of the hotel project too and helped me reach the right people with my business plan. I in return wrote out, in english, several of his ideas for submission to the local tourism board.

Those of you may remember from last year's trip how Duy took me all over the countryside searching for that perfect piece of land for the hotel. We had great fun!

I am missing him already. Hoi An will not be same for me without Duy.

Here's What's New

Can you see it?
On December 16th of 2007 the Vietnamese government enacted a new law requiring all drivers and passengers of motorbikes to don helmets. In the ensuing days, millions of helmets were sold nationwide, simultaneously deducting millions of style points from the national treasury.
"Can you believe I have to wear a helmet with my Ao Dai?" My school teacher cousin expressed. (The Ao Dai is the traditional "long shirt" worn by vietnamese women. It's elegant in all circumstances except for commuting around the city, with a helmet.) "At first we all looked at each other with embarassment, but now we're all use to these things." She later added.
Not surprising, Vietnam would again take this new minor set back with aplomb. Mostly everyone took it as a chance to express their individuality.


This one is the hipster camo.



"If I've got a wear a helmet, it's got give me great coverage and it better be pink!"



"Get out of my way! I'm late for my rollerblading group....If you think my helmet is big, wait until you see my blades."



Personally, I'm searching for that special racy/retro design to go with the bike I'm also in search of......more of that later....I hope.