Helderweb's Blog

Sapa, Vietnam

helderweb — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 10:46:50 +0000

Ha Long Bay is very famous and an industry has been created to bring thousands of international tourists from Hanoi out to see the islands. Hundreds of buses and boats to bring everybody out to see this amazing site… the same with Sapa way up in the mountains near China. I got an overnite bus to Sapa and when I got off the bus in Sapa a motorbike rider came up to me and said..”are you Robert Simpson?”.. He took me up to the Sapa Summit hotel and when I checked in there was a guitar in the lobby and I played and sang “I still miss someone” and “I’m gonna live forever”… the hotel food was great.. I had a couple of great treks through several villages. the treks were long and dangerous but when they were over I was so tired and proud of myself to accomplish these treks. Sapa is an amazing place which I am sure will no longer exist as it is for much longer. The local people are turning to tourism and away from traditional village life.

my UK trekkers Sapa

At first I did not like Hanoi…that happens with many towns that I visit.. after a few days I began to like it. I went to see the water puppet show…no strings.. the puppets are controlled under water by bamboo. The traditional music was live and fantastic.

I hired another motorbike driver to take me around Hanoi. I got to see some great museums and again some very old temples. Hanoi has some great parks and plenty of lakes and rivers. Not as many scooters as Saigon but they are working on catching up to them.

my Hanoi fan club

Hanoi

helderweb — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:03:41 +0000

After a great ride in the rain from Hue to the ocean, A nite sleeper bus to Hanoi, a trip over 500 kilometers, I arrived in the very cold city of Hanoi. Before I left Hue I bought a warm Northface coat.

My hotel was ok… I bought a ticket for a 2 day trip to Ha Long Bay. We took a 3 hour bus trip to the port and got on a wooden boat. It was cold and rainy, but this was my time to be here.

We had a great lunch on the boat, and then visited a beautiful cave.

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

It was exciting to ride through these islands..there are over 2,000 of them. The people on board were great and our trip was cold but fun.

Now back in Hanoi… off to Sapa tomorrow nite.

off to Hanoi

helderweb — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:16:44 +0000

It is getting to be a long march up to Hanoi. Nha Trang was a great party town. Took two bike tours with Duc who works at the hotel. The rides were so good that I bought him two great meals. One was a seafood hot pot which is cooked at the table and the other one was great squid. We had some rice wine with the lunch.. a nice buzz…

I bought a $6 boat trip which took me to 4 islands off the coast. The tour leader looked like Obama and
started the trip by getting up in front of the boat and singing the theme from the Titanic (and very well).

The islands were beautiful..lunch on the boat was plain but good…then I got a surprise… the cook played an electric guitar, a drum set appeared and we got a Beach Boys concert on the boat.. our tour guide came out with a wig and made us all laugh. I ended up dancing Twist Again on the boat. Later they served drinks in a water bar…

Then I got a bus up to Hoian..this is an old international tourist place…famous for making clothes. I got a motorbike ride up to the Danang beach and was surprised to see golf courses and very large hotels. It is starting to look like Florida here.

The bus ride up to Hue was beautiful..over mountains, through a long tunnel, and near the ocean.
After I checked into my hotel, I hired a bike rickshaw to take me across the river to see the Citadel… the home of the Emperor and his 500 wives!!!!I

Tomorrow night off on another bus ride to Hanoi. I will take a mototcycle trip outside of Hue.

Still excited to be seeing so much of Vietnam… this is a great way to do this..not seeing too many Americans over here.

Return to Vietnam

helderweb — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:27:20 +0000

The sleeper bus from Cambodia turned out to be a regular bus and it was another long ride to Ho Chi Mihn City. The city was full of flowers and the motor-bikes are still here. I walked to my hotel and the next day off to Vung Tau with Cuong, my friend.

We took a hydrofoil boat to the ocean resort. We rode around Vung Tau and saw a dragon show which is an Asian drum thing to celebrate the New Year. I really enjoyed a seafood dinner there.. a long time since I ate crab.

Noticed many new oil drilling going on near Vung Tau. The are building many new hotels there.

1930 French train station at Da Lat , Vietnam

I bought an open bus ticket to Hanoi and I plan to stop at 4 cities along the way…

first city was DaLat…the flower city.of Vietnam. The french influence can be seen here.. this place is up in the misty mountains and is the honeymoon place for Vietnam. I got a driver to take me around for 2 days. I really like these little bike tours… got to see a very large happy Buddha..another waterfall, a cricket farm, a weasel coffee operation and a million coffee bushes..

After 3 days I took a 5 hr. bus ride out of the mountains down to the seaside resort city of Nha Trang. J Plenty of Russians here. Hope to get some seafood here and take another boat ride.

Last Week in Cambodia

helderweb — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:27:36 +0000

Left Batambang and a nice bus ride to Pheon Penh..changed bus at a very hot and crowded PP bus station.. Got to Sihanoukville late at night.. got a driver and bike to help me find a room.. as this was the start of a 4 day Chinese New Year most places were full. My driver, CatRay.. was a good guide. he took me to Victory Beach, 6 miles west of the city, and I got a great room with wifi.

The next day he took me to a beach which was just like Geribar Beach in Buzios. Near Rio…Brazil.

That afternoon CarRay took me to his Aunt’s house and I was treated to a real Cambodian New Year’s eve dinner and plenty of beer.

The next day I got a 50 mile bike ride to his family house east of Sihanoukville. I met his mom, wife, daughter and son…how amazing to stop being a tourist and to be able to visit real families…

They really celebrate New Years here…4 days of parties and World War Three explosions of fireworks all through the night.

I was told to visit Bamboo Island while I was here. I spent 2 days at a little cottage on the water and I kept thinking I was in paradise. Food and beaches were perfect. The little boats bring tourists to the island to swim and drink. It was nice to spend a couple of days without cars… they start the generator at 5 pm and turn it off at midnite… pretty basic island living…

got a ticket for a nite sleeper bus to Ho Chi Minh City for 30 Jan. 2012

Catray and family

2 weeks in Laos

helderweb — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 00:57:00 +0000

2 days on a slow boat down the Mekong..1 week in the beautiful old capitol Luang Prabang..3 days in the wild west Vang Vien..several days in the capitol Vietianne and then the last few days on the Island Done Khong. Today a boat off the island, a van to the Cambodian border..then a long bus ride to Ankor Wat.

My big thing on this island was a 36 mile bike trip around the whole island. I started off at 8am and got back to town around 5 pm.

Lao grandson and grandma

Got some sunburn on my legs and really had my doubts about completing the ride… But I did it and the warm shower and cold Lao dark beer was so good when I got back.

Always nice to run into my friends I have made along the way.. I take off from a place and several places later I run into them again.. Sitting in front of my hotel in Vietianne, I looked up and there they were..my 2 friends from Chaing Mai.. Jerry a guy from Burma and the UK and Sasha from Siberia. So nice to see them again.. We are all on the same routes..all just a bit different.

Hopefully the web will be better in Cambodia..

First week in Laos

helderweb — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 14:51:55 +0000

First this country is called Lao, not “Lay os”… after a month of Thailand it is nice to be in this country which is so layed back and calmer… Similiar but different. I have stayed at the same crappy Guest House in Luang Prabang for the past 7 days. I just did not have enough energy to pack up my stuff and look for a better place.

Temple next to the Luang Prabang Night Market

Never felt like a guest here but it has wifi, a balcony which overlooks one of the busiest tourist streets in Luang Prabang and a TV with some English channels. It is only 10 bucks a night so it is okay, even with a sink which leaks onto the bathroom floor. This was a French colonial city and they built some beautiful structures which are now guest houses. For some strange reason, this place has many Lesbians tourists. I do not know why, but they are here. Also there are plenty of people visiting from China, UK, Germany, France and Australia… Not too many USA types. My days here consisted of going out in the morning and looking for some coffee.. each day I tried someplace different. I had long walks all over the place. The historical part of this city is built on a peninsula made from the convergence of the Mekong and another smaller river.

They have a night market here and it is amazing to realize the whole thing is set up in the late afternoon and taken down at 10 pm everynite. I did not buy anything at the markets but I talked to plenty of the ladies trying to sell me stuff.

This town has many temples and young monks walking around in the morning looking for free food. I am not sure why I chose this place to visit, but once again a great choice. After a week here, I got a ride in a Tuk Tuk to the bus station and took a VIP bus for an 8 hour ride down to Vang Vieng another tourist town which is so much rougher than Luang Prabang. Different type place situated next to a nice little river and surrounded by very steep mountains. the ride here was another one of those incredible frightning experiences plenty of winding roads up and down some amazing mountains. Somehow people live up along the ridges with house on stilts with 2000 ft. drops behind them. It is amazing how people somehow survive in such difficult situations.

I met some people from Beijing and had dinner with them here. They do not have google Plus and no Facebook… they live behind the great fire wall of China. I am looking forward to visit China in April. Off to Vietenne, the capital of Laos..

Goodbye Siam..Hello Laos

helderweb — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 07:24:44 +0000

I have had a wonderful month here in Thailand. Tonite I sit next to the Mekong River in Chiang Khong. In the morning we cross the river and enter Laos.

Most of my time has been spent in Chiang Mai..the second biggest city in Thailand. I have become very happy to be in this city. It is surrounded by a moat. I would like to come back here soon. I have my favorite street place to get my pad thai..my favorite bakery..and this is a walking town.

On Sunday afternoons there is a street market and it seems most of the city is there.. Plenty of street food..music and things to buy.

I did get to visit Wiang Haeng up north in the mountains. We stayed at a cowboy resort and it was cold but interesting.

I just vegged out in Chiang Mai for Christmas week. can’t say I did much..just enjoyed myself..good food and a massage everyday.

I bought a ticket for a 3 day tour out of Thailand, across the border to Laos and a 2 day boat ride to the center of Laos.

Now writing this on a long slow boat on the Mekong.. Over 140 people on this..most of them tourists. Spent the night in Pak Beng, half way to our destination. Room cost $12 no wifi but a TV with a hundred channels..none in English.

Now I am in Luang Prabang..very different place than Thailand.. Took a very long walk today… This place is where 2 rivers cross and another World heritage site.. I seem to run into them all over the world… Have not posted for several days got an email from hell from someone I love and have been in a blue funk for a week..

So here it is… will try to get better at this..

Off to Pai, Thailand

helderweb — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 06:12:19 +0000

Before I left Chiang Mai, I went to the Friday night fights… I walked to the night market and found the “stadium”…basically a parking lot with a tent and some plastic chairs. It was surprisingly good though. I sat with an Australian who had just taken his family on a 3 day jungle trek on elephants. I have never been to a fight before and this was my first, and a Thai kick boxing one. About 8 matches, a couple of lady fights too. When the fighters come out they first do a little dance and they fight to music. There were a couple of moments which were very exciting. One guy did 2 back flips after he knocked the other fighter out.

The whole thing brought me back to grade school and when I got hit by bullies in the neighborhood. I bet I could now beat up most of those guys that gave it to me back then. here is a video from the fight…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85REdDF-wN0&feature=bf_prev&list=UURmh4yT9NH02cxmL0wcB5VA&lf=plcp

I got a van to Pai and the ride was way up a mountain and has over 800 curves. Pai was really rocking… this was a 3 day holiday weekend and plenty of people were visiting Pai. There were plenty of tents set up along the river and I was lucky to get a room in the place I stayed last time. The price went up 3 bucks because this is the high season here.

I found my curry house place and enjoyed a curry which is served in a coconut shell. I rented a scooter and took a ride up north… I kept on going and arrived at a place called Mai Hung Son. (Rik, Jordan and Zachary might enjoy that name) I was so far away from Pai, I got a room for the night. I rode around town for a while but all the miles made me very tired. They have a temple next to a lake and I was told the whole temple was carried here from Burma, which is not that far away. I took a picture of the temple and posted up on google+.

I had two options in the morning… go back to Pai the way I came which was a lot shorter… but I went south back to Chiang Mai and then north back up to Pai. This was a journey of over 300 miles on winding roads up and down and around mountains… it was tough and very rewarding. I got to see plenty of Thailand up close. I filled up the bike in Chiang Mai and when I got to the last 20 miles from Pai I was just about out of gas. I stopped at a police checkpoint and asked if anybody had any gas. They showed me a store which sold me a liter of gas for $1.50. The cop put the fuel in the bike for me and I was so relieved that I would not run out of gas in the dark way up in the Thai Mountains.

there is a bird at my hotel which can talk pretty good.. He can say hello and thankyou in Thai… he also imitates the starting of a scooter. I put up a video of this bird here..

http://www.youtube.com/user/helderweb

So my time here is going by slow, after my scooter ride I really do not feel like doing much. In the mornings I walk across a bamboo bridge and have coffee and toast at a place next to the river… I usually get a massage later in the day…most of the massages have been Thai ones…these are deep tissue massages which stretch you like Yoga…they can be painful at times…but a “good” pain!!! Just taking it easy for now…probably head back to Chiang Mai for Christmas and New Years.

Jordan seems to be the only family member who is keeping in contact with me on google talk and skype. I got to see my two granddaughters on Skype last week and it was very nice to see how they have grown.

Not much news here but I really am not doing much in Pai, Thailand. Sent my sons there last Christmas present today. that is all I can do from so far away.

later….

Time in Chiang Mai

helderweb — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:02:52 +0000

The train ride from Bangkok was fine… I slept many hours on the train.. one problem was that this was the last train to leave and there really was no food or drinks on the train. My seat mate was a French Chief from Corsica who was just arriving to be with his Thai girlfriend. We bought 2 large Chiang beers at the train station and that is all I had for 12 hours… The kings birthday was the next day and there was a large stage show going on next to the train station… I do have amazing timing on my trips.

It was nice to sit between the cars and look at the northern Thai villages, farms and mountains go by… When I got to Chiang Mai I was not as excited as my first time there last May. I knew how to get a tuk-tuk to my hotel in the old city which is surrounded by a moat. BP the French guy that runs the place was so nice to me. He and his Thai wife are going to have a little boy in a few months and he seems very happy.

It is hot here but not so bad. My time consists of walking around this city and looking for some gifts to send back to my family. My TV has two english channels…FOX news and a station from Australia. I got myself worked up looking at Fox, but now I am streaming CNN on my computer and that is calming me down…. I really do not miss the daily news stream here… I follow what is going on via Twitter. My sim card provides access when I am out of range from WiFi. I have really enjoyed the Pad Thai eats and the amazing fruit juices you can get on the street. I walked around for several days and my South African sandals came apart. I finally got some nice leather ones at the market and I hope I will wear them until I get back to the USA in May.

Today I just took off and walked out of the old city to a new part of town. I found the flower market and walked along the Ping River. I got to see a guy catch a very large fish from the river. When I got near the market place I bought a new hat and some gifts which I will mail back this week. I have a collection of Moroccan and South Africa things and now I am gathering Thai things… The lady that sold me the hat told me that she has a sister who is 3o years old who would love to meet me. I told her that I really was not that interested… There are plenty of Americans and Europeans here who have retired to this great city and many of them have Thai wives and girlfriends. I do not think that is in my future.

I really wanted to describe the things that I see and do here in Asian…. they just do not come to me when I write these blogs. I hope to do better in the future. I plan to go to Pai, about 3 hours north west of here next Monday. Then I will rent a scooter and go way up to the Chinese border. My plan is to return here for Christmas and then take a van and boat to Laos after the first. I really have not made any friends here but there are some nice people staying at this hotel and one French guy has a guitar and sings songs from around the world. I tried to play something but my heart was not into it.

tonite I found the controls for the AC and for the first time I feel so comfy here in this room. There is a balcony which overlooks this city and tonite I looked out at the skyline and saw yellow lights rising in the sky far away. At first I thought it was helicopters but then I realized it was paper hot air balloons which people send up for good luck. I am having plenty of that….\

that is my blog for now