More Hanoi

Just a few of the many Halong Bay islands.

Still in Hanoi then -  I have to visit the Thai embassy to hand in my visa paperwork, this turns out to be not as easy as I'd hoped, the lady behind the window says I should have brought a printout of a bank statement, first I'd heard of this, finding somewhere in Hanoi I can print the thing out at turns out to be tricky.  And then she refuses to accept the Thai money I've brought specially for the fee, nor can I pay with local currency, rather she insists on US dollars.  More fun ensues as I visit an ATM to withdraw a couple of million in Vietnamese Dong (oh yes), and then manage to find a street full of shops that I realise must be money changers, as two separate people have directed me here... there is no English signage, nor any of the lists of exchange rates you might expect, but never mind, in the end I get all the documents handed in with around seven minutes to spare.

Back in a kayak!

I have time for more sightseeing, visiting various parks and lakes, in each case it is good to get away from the traffic.  I am a little surprised to not really see anything in the way of impressive temples here - one of the lakes has a little island which allegedly contains a small temple, after I pay thirty thousand Dong (around one pound) to get onto the island the thing turns out to be entirely fenced off and pretty much under construction rather than restoration.  I rather suspect this country is only just emerging from a period during which religion was oppressed, and the temples largely demolished - perhaps to make room for giant statues of Uncle Ho, of which I see a few.

View from the boat.

There is good food here, interesting stuff to buy on the street, I get a savoury pancake one day, and some sort of deep fried pork omelette another.  Of an evening, the local speciality 'cha ca la vong' - catfish fried with spices - is rather tasty, and I of course get some spring rolls.  Not totally convinced by the bland, cold rice vermicelli that seems to be the standard accompaniment but never mind.  On the plus side I get to visit the cafe that invented Vietnamese egg coffee... there's time for cultural stuff too, at the weekend there is traditional dancing happening in the street in the old town, and I also do the 'water puppet' thing which is a local tradition.  Most entertaining, a series of vignettes covering legends and pastoral scenes, with kings, rice farmers, fish and fire breathing dragons emerging from the water to do their thing.

Thien Cung (Heavenly Palace) cave.

On my last day in Vietnam, with the Thai visa all sorted out, I'm able to get away from the city on a very long day trip, to Halong Bay.  It's maybe two hundred kilometres away, but the bus sure takes its time getting there and back, it is totally worth it though as this is an incredible place, some accident of geology has resulted in, our guide tells us, around one thousand seven hundred steep sided islands rising dramatically from the waters of the bay.  The scenery is breathtaking, with new vistas opening up as I travel among the islands on a very comfortable boat, one of a large fleet catering to hordes of tourists - mostly more or less local, my own group is composed of Filipinos, Japanese and Koreans, plus me.  We get a fine meal of seafood fresh from the bay, I get to do a bit of kayaking, paddling around and through a couple of narrow entrances to find circular 'hollow' islands, and then we're back on the boat to visit an incredible complex of caves, carved by the elements into the interior of yet another island.  I realise I need to come back and do a multiple day trip here... there are trekking trips you can do in the north of the country too, apparently this can include scaling the highest mountain in the three countries of what was French Indochina.  Well, some other time...

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Hanoi Christmas!

Floral display by Hoan Kiem Lake.

More blogging!  Well, the cycling in Thailand was fun, but I really did want to get to a new country - and in fact, I do now have to leave Thailand, again, to get yet another new visa, so, virtue out of necessity once again, I am off to Hanoi.  Well, I may as well use the Vietnam visa I bought in the hope of cycling there...

First impressions of Hanoi?  Honestly not the greatest, a pall of pollution hangs over the city, I get off the bus from the airport thinking I can see the river that my hotel is near, but it turns out to be a massive lake, also pretty badly polluted judging by the numerous dead fish floating on the surface.  I now of course have to walk pretty much all the way around the lake, it is pleasant enough, barring the constant swarm of fast moving, horn beeping mopeds that clog the roads here.  Getting towards the old city these things become a real problem, just crossing the road here seems to mean taking your life into your hands, and walking beside it isn't easy either, while there is a pavement, the locals seem to think it is there for them to park those mopeds on.

In the Ho Chi Minh museum.

Things seem to be kind of small here... my hotel is small, as is my room, the streets are lined with little, box like shops, cafes and bars, with wares and seating spilling out onto the road.  Indeed, I end up spending an evening at a bar where the music - which is excellent - consists of a band set up on the opposite side of the road.  There are lots of tourists about, local children dance around in the street, and adding to the party atmosphere are the fires that people are making out of scrap cardboard and so forth in the street, as you do.  All quite fun anyway.

Uncle Ho's mausoleum.

There is of course a lot of sight seeing to do here, there are many interesting museums for instance.  I visit the old palace complex, not many of the original buildings survived - apparently the French demolished many of them - but there are many exhibits, with a lot of finds from a nearby archaeological site which I also wander around, it is certainly a nice escape from the traffic.  The presidential palace complex is not quite so exciting, I peer at Ho Chi Minh's old house while many Chinese tour guides herd their groups around, and speaking of 'Uncle Ho', his mausoleum is here of course, plus a large museum dedicated to him, all very interesting.  The well preserved body of the father of the nation is worth a look to be sure... from the museum, I get the feeling Ho has slotted right in to the role of virtuous leader, which in Thailand is filled by their many kings.  Indeed, visiting the impressive military museum, the history described there begins with independence from China, around a thousand years ago, progresses through numerous legendary kings, and then segues straight into Ho's battle against first the colonial French, and then the 'American aggressors'.  There's also a large display of tanks, planes and so forth from the Vietnam war, all very cool.

Back to Hoan Kiem Lake, this is the famous Turtle Tower.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Cycling Southeast Asia : 6

Wat Mai in Lampang.  Yes it means 'new temple'.

Is there much to do in Lampang, Thailand's third city?  A quick internet search suggests a national park, and a restaurant I'm familiar with - because it is in Chiang Mai!  Both of these things are over eighty kilometres away...  Never mind, I am feeling too broken for much sightseeing in any case, I manage a little wander along the river, where of course there is a big temple, and then to a museum in a substantial 'ancient house' - over a century old - supported by hundred or so thick teak pillars.  I make an attempt to cure my upset stomach by eating a very large pizza, I don't know if it will work but it is good.  Then off to watch Arsenal play Southampton, in a veritable shrine to English football, there are scarves and flags everywhere - just a shame about the result.

So much teak.

Still feeling bad the next day, I do what I probably should have done a couple of days ago and head to a chemist to buy some pills.  I seem to be able to keep pedalling at least, though not without problems - the bike doesn't want to go into first gear, this is not ideal, I'm pretty sure I will need it today.  I manage to fix it after a fair amount of faffing about, and then first gear is indeed needed, up into the hills I go, crossing the railway line near the Doi Kun Tan tunnel entrance, and then climbing the mountain that the tunnel cuts through.  I manage to pedal pretty well, but have to push for the last mile or two to the top, where I leave Lampang province and enter Lampun - I'm not going to Lampun the town though, have been there before after all.  It is at least all down or flat from here, though for a while the road is unpleasantly busy, and also being dug up so there is no shoulder for me to ride on - I'm very glad to pull off onto a minor road, joining a familiar route by the railway line back into Chiang Mai.

Well this is awfully civilised.

Well this was all good fun, a shame about not getting to Laos but never mind, I certainly had a very interesting trip around the northern region of Thailand.  Good to practice my Thai as well I suppose... and indeed, it was very handy to be able to read the signs with things like 'hotel this way'.  I suspect also that by staying in Thailand I had a much better quality of road, though clearly the Thais are not satisfied with their highway network just yet, there was an awful lot of widening going on.  Still, I can see me doing this again, there is a lot more of the country to explore, and maybe there are other borders that I'd actually be able to cross.  Myanmar isn't far away...

Massive statue of revered local monk Khruba Sriwichai.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Cycling Southeast Asia : 5

Animals paying homage to Taksin the Great.

For the third time, I ride to the old city of Sukhothai, but this time I keep on, along a broad highway leading west towards Myanmar - I am not going to get that far, this time.  There's little traffic, I am passed, slowly, by several improvised lorries - what look like basically the wheels, suspension and engine of an old pickup truck with a much larger body built on from steel bars and wooden planks.  Destination today is the town of Taak, once again the capital of a province with the same name, I cannot seem to say this word right, people ask where I am going and then look blankly when I say the name.  I pass a monument to King Taksin the Great, governor of the province at the time of the sack of Ayutthaya, who rallied the Thais and declared himself king - the monument is a copy of a bigger one which is Taak's main tourist attraction, that and a historic suspension bridge over the Ping river.  Taak doesn't seem to be very set up for tourists, I check in to a hotel which is very posh compared to the one in Sukhothai, but then struggle to find a restaurant, eventually I eat at an even posher hotel, it's only me dining and the food is expensive and actually not that nice, but never mind.

Islands in the Ping.

Next morning I visit the Taksin monument, actually the English signs call it a shrine, and indeed there are locals paying respect, the people in these parts are descended from animists and ancestor-worshippers and sometimes it shows.  I ride along the Ping, the same river as runs through Chiang Mai though much broader here, it is very pleasant barring the dogs that sometimes dash out to bark at me.  Hills are crowding around the road now, I know I will have to cross mountains to get back to Chiang Mai, but not today, the road stays flat, it is a long day though, and my stomach feels rather odd.  There's no big city for me to stop in tonight, instead I end up in the small town of Toen (pronounced 'turn').  It is little more than a truck stop, but there's a hotel which is very cheap and perfectly serviceable.

I think I might need to lower the saddle a bit...

Onwards, I head north on route 1, I'm really not feeling good now, painful stomach cramps strike at intervals and I have to stop and sit down, still I keep going.  The surrounding terrain grows more and more hilly, there are no more plains or paddy fields, instead steep wooded slopes rise to either side.  Still, the road maintains a manageable grade, and I keep pedalling.  Late in the afternoon I stop for a snack at Thailand's ubiquitous convenience store, 7-11, opposite yet another massive statue of a legendary king, this time Naresuan, he of 'fought the crown prince of Burma to the death on elephant-back' fame, they sure love their statues of kings here.  Pulling away again I realise I actually have a puncture!  First one of the trip, but it's easily fixed, and not actually that surprising as the tread on my rear tyre is getting very thin.  I finish the day in Lampang, this is a big place, and I'm still feeling pretty grim, so I decide to take a day off.

On the approach to Lampang - big place for horse and carriage riding it seems.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Cycling Southeast Asia : 4

Replica of the Ramkhamhaeng Stele, with the King himself behind.

I consider spending one day wandering around the old city of Sukhothai, and one looking at the sights of the modern town - but it turns out there's really nothing to see in the new city so two days of old ruins it is then.  There are certainly enough of them, the place is similar in scale to Angkor Wat, though it has to be said the architecture is not nearly as impressive.  Still, there are very many old chedis, the gold leaf and stucco long gone, revealing the brick structure beneath.  I walk through forests of laterite columns, and marvel at giant Buddha statues, some of them in pretty good shape - recently restored I suspect.  Many of the temples are surrounded by substantial lakes, attracting plenty of hungry birds, it is all very tranquil, and there's a good sized museum too, with many articles recovered from the site - why yes, most of them are indeed Buddha images.

Wat Mahathat.

There's more the same on my second day in Sukhothai - I feed massive catfish by Wat Traphang Thong, then cycle or wander on foot, looking at ruined temples built in various styles, some like Angkor Wat built from solid stone blocks, others more typically Thai, and constructed from layers of brick.  As with the chedis, the remains of massive Buddha statues reveal the brick interior, cunningly shaped so that with a coating of stucco the result is a human form.  I must admit though, I am getting a little bit tired of the Buddha, though the massive one at Wat Si Chum is impressive for sure.  Still, I miss the cartoon animals and superheroes of the modern temples... never mind, there is something different around the corner, I find a substantial ancient industrial site, in the process of investigation and conservation by archaeologists.  Some fifty pottery kilns  have been unearthed, and fragments of centuries old plates litter the ground, all very cool.

Wat Si Chum.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Cycling Southeast Asia : 3

Miuang Pii.

I continue to follow route 101 south, it's flat and easy going, there is a bit of traffic though so when I get the chance I turn off onto a minor road.  It is nice and quiet, I ride through plantations of rubber trees, each with a strip of bark cut away and a bowl attached to catch the sap.  Back to the highway, I climb up to reach a high point, the border between Naan and Prae provinces.  Checking my GPS, it reckons the nearest hotel is in Prae the city, that would be a very long day, I am glad to find one thirty kilometres earlier, it even has a nice bar attached.

Teak house at Prae.

I make it a lazy day to Prae, why not, this gives me time to visit the Miuang Pii forest park on the way, an interesting place where the various types of volcanic rock have eroded to form tall columns - the name means, 'city of ghosts'.  I have plenty of time for sightseeing in Prae too, it's another nice, unspoilt place with a pleasant walking trail along the city wall, many old teak houses, and a lot of museums too.  One next to my hotel is dedicated to the Free Thai movement, the resistance to the Japanese occupation during World War Two. Pretty dead in the evening here mind you, though after some wandering I find a restaurant, by the bus station.

Crossing into Uttaradit province.

I keep on south, route 101 has got pretty busy, but I find some minor roads leading up into the hills, I seem to be stronger now and manage to keep pedalling.  I leave Prae province, into Uttaradit, if it sounds Indian that is because like many names here it is derived from Sanskrit.  Once again the provincial capital has the same name, and seems a good place to stop - it's a bit of a letdown after Naan and Prae though, straight streets lined with modern(ish) buildings, many shops at ground level, all shut at night of course.  Nonetheless I find a bar, and eat some tasty Tom Yam Gung.

Clock tower in modern Sukhothai.

I seem to have left the mountains behind, the way ahead looks flat, so I can do a long day, over a hundred kilometres to Sukhothai.  I find a route away from the main road, this makes for nice cycling between the paddy fields, with various bird species fishing in them. I make good time to Sukhothai, the first capital of Thailand, they say - to be honest a somewhat dubious claim, it was just one of many city states in the region, and the story of legendary king Ramkhamhaeng inventing Thai script can be taken with a pinch of salt.  The old city is twelve kilometres away, it sounds very impressive, so I decide to take two days off to explore, and find a slightly down at heel hotel - but no matter, there is food and beer nearby.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Cycling Southeast Asia : 2

It was worth riding up this way just for the scenery.

Day four of my trip turns out to be a hell of a day, so many hills, all day I am going up and down, sometimes so steep I can barely push up, and I am testing the brakes on the way down too.  There are some lovely views at least, but it takes some ten hours to reach my destination, Chiang Klaang... I have my own little flat today, courtesy of a nice Norwegian chap named Tomas - he even gives me his dinner to eat and goes to buy me beer while I shower.  And I get to watch Arsenal destroy Tottenham, can't be bad.  A slight downside, Tomas reckons the Laos border police won't let me take my bike through - we shall see...

Army monument on the road to Naan.

Of course the last bit of Thailand - hopefully - involves more crazy hills, but it is only sixty kilometres, and I reach the Laos border at 3:30pm.  And indeed, Laos border control tell me I can leave my bike and walk in if I want to, but I can't take the bike without papers from a tour company.  I suspect they are worried that lone travellers will be attacked by bandits!  A kafkaesque process ensues, I push the bike up the large hill that sits between the Thai and Laos checkpoints, only to be told I have to go back again and buy a Laos visa, just so that I can get back into Thailand...  This is all a little bit annoying, not least, my GPS reckons there are many hotels a mile or so into Laos, back in Thailand there is maybe, one.  It turns out to be a... half built military museum?  But, I chat to an army cadet who is hanging about, and he shows me a nice little, brand new house I can stay in, the price being a donation, amount 'up to me'.  Good thing I knew that phrase.

So, no real choice but to head back the way I came, it is still very pretty, and at least more down than up in this direction.  I stay on route 101, the main highway in these parts, for eighty kilometres or so, as far as the small town of Pua.  I am just in time for a pleasant stroll around the lake opposite my hotel as the sun sets, and the locals enjoy a bit of Zumba!  Searching the internet for 'bar Pua' is a bad idea it seems, but I find a nice one anyway.

Temple with a fine view over Naan.

From here it's a short, easy run to Naan, the provincial capital, time for day off I think.  Kind of unspoilt here, plenty of Thai tourists, but no farang apart from me.  Good to have a day of sight seeing, I climb a big hill with a fine view of town, and visit many temples, one of which has the famous 'Hak Naan', that is, 'Naan whisper' - part of a large mural, it depicts a heavily tattooed gentleman making what I am sure is an entirely proper suggestion to a traditionally dressed young lady.  There are no bars here!  My first night, I end up in a restaurant by the river where I am only customer, a bit awkward to be honest.  On the second night I do rather better, finding a no frills little place that going by the posters and indeed video they have playing, is run by local celeb, chef Uthai.  He even comes out for a chat, and compliments me on my Thai!

Whisper whisper.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.