Last stop

Halloh. On my way home, I had a 10 hour layover in Taipei. My dear friend Annie took the train from southern Taiwan to spend the day with me. I wanted to see Taipei 101, soon to be, no longer the tallest building in the world. It was pretty cool. I had a wonderful day in Taipei. Thank you Annie!
The flight home was 12 hours. At customs in Seattle I was pulled aside by an officer. He looked through my stuff and found a burned DVD. After he learned where I'd been and for how long, he took the disc, and my memory cards to examine. I'm kinda stupid and asked him what he was looking for. He thought I might be a pedophile who was a sex tourist. I was too tired to be upset but I got angry later. Do I look like a sex tourist?
I love Asia. I love the weather, the people, and the food. After only two days home my skin is already turning back to Lizard Man. I'll back next winter. Wanna join me? Doahlahs budget tours. I work for Sang Som.
Goodbye, Doug

Back to Saigon

Halloh. The three hour boat ride was pleasant enough, but the seven hour bus ride was truly one from hell. There was seating for 17, but there were 20 adults, one baby, and two small dogs crammed in. There was air con but the driver and his assistant wanted to smoke, so they kept the windows open. A young French couple and I were the only westerners. The photo here does not show how crowded it was. I survived.
I had one more night in Saigon before flying back to Bangkok. The next morning I saw the French couple. We laughed about the trip. The man was mixed race. He said that he was going to meet the Vietnamese side of his family for the first time. An aunt was bussing into Saigon from the Mekong delta, and would take them back to meet the family. He was very excited.
Vietnam is okay. The people are not as warm as in Thailand but I'll go back next winter.
Bye for now, Ducklass

Phu Quoc

Halloh! The bus ride from Dalat to Saigon was unpleasant. It was an 'ordinary' bus, meaning no aircon. It was hot and the back row (just behind me) was filled with Viet men smoking and drinking rice wine. It took seven hours. Ugh!
I got settled in at the Hoang Linh hotel and found a new travel agent. I was able to get an airplane ticket to Phu Quoc, but would have to boat and bus back. The lonely Planet says that Phu Quoc will be the next Phuket. It has a long way to go to get to that level. The roads are unpaved and the only way to ensure dependable electricity is to have a generator. It's a big island and I only had three nights. I found a nice little resort with a restaraunt and bungalows for $10. The first day I walked down the beach and found this very odd resort complex called A Thousand Stars. There were many concrete statues scattered about like the one you see here. Buddahs, African animals, all sorts of stuff. The place itself was a dump. It was very run down with trash everywhere. I had lunch by the pool. Pork stuffed squid and rice. The young lady working there only served food and drinks. She said that pool maintainence was not her job. The water was murky and there were many leaves floating on the water. She said there were sixty employees. Many wandered by to have a peek at me, as I was the only person there. She said there were 100 guests checking in the next day.
I booked a snorkel trip for my next day. It was similar to the trips in Nha Trang. Three stops, lunch, and a little Viet rum. There were four Germans, two Norweigans, two Danes and me. After the first stop, the engine broke. We had an extra long lunch while they brought another boat. We were chatting about Vietnam and how it hasn't reached the standards of Thailand tourism. Many hotels and resorts are owned by the army. I described the Thousand Stars and mentioned that with all those employees wandering around, someone could be picking up the trash. Sonia (one of the Germans) suggested it was probably an army resort and no one cared. Another boat arrived and we were towed to the next swimming spot. We wasted time getting the boat towed back, and were driven to a local beach for another swim. It was all Vietnamese at the beach. It was a nice beach, but covered with litter.
One of the larger resorts nearby had a bar with live music. I had dinner there one night (more pork stuffe squid) and listened to some music. I liked Phu Quoc. I will go back next winter and spend more time there.
Bye for now, Joahlah

Dalat

Halloh. Dalat is an old French resort town in the mountains often referred to as the Vietnam Alps. The weather is unlike the rest of Vietnam. It's cooler there and they grow a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. In the American war, all sides agreed to avoid fighting there. The town surrendered without a fight in early April 1975.
There is a loose affiliation of motorbike taxi dudes that call themselves Easy Riders. Mine claimed the author of the Lonely Planet books gave them the name. They have a website and monthly meetings to police themselves. Some take their clients all the way to Hanoi or Saigon. I met a young Dutch woman that had riden from Nha Trang and would continue on to Mui Ne with hers. Thats many hundreds of kilometers. The one I got stuck with was the brother of my guesthouse owner. He wanted to take me to Saigon. Thats an unpleasant 6 hour bus ride. No way would I go on the back of a motorbike. I spent spent two nights in Dalat and saw a local waterfall that had a cool rollercoaster. It swooped down through the forest and back up to the restaraunt for about $4 U.S. I would have taken it again, but for the scardycat Vietnamese that wouldn't go fast. I had to brake to a crawl so I wouldn't crash into the car ahead of me. There is a nice gondola ride there too. It goes high above the valley for about 3 kilometers. Also in town is the famouse Crazy Nga house. It's a guesthouse designed by a famous Viet architect (sp) Sorry Bob! It looks very much like the Gaudi stuff in Barcelona. I guess I didn't really bond with Dalat.
I had been trying to put together a trip to Phu Quoc island by phone and E mail with the tour desk at the Hoang Linh hotel in Saigon. They completely hosed the deal. I decided to head back to see what was going on. They had done nothing. I had to start over. Most of the flights and boat passages were full. I put together a trip for only three nights. Oh well, live and learn.
Bye for now, Ducklass

Nha Trang #2

Halloh! I'm heading home tomorrow so I better catch up. I took another Mama Linh boat tip. There were only two other westerners onboard. A grumpy old Aussie and a grumpy young Aussie. I teased the 'cruise director' about the group being not very fun. We did have a fascinating discussion about the 'Abo' situation in Australia. How can I not have fun playing in the sea for $7 a day!
One afternoon I took a taxi to the local mud bath and mineral spring spa. There were hundreds of Viet bathers and four westerners. It was $5 for a group tub or $12 for a private one. As 'thrifty' as I am, I chose the group tub. As I was a single male, I was directed to a tub with other single men. Three old Viet men with bad teeth and me slipping around in a mud bath. After the mud part, everyone together cleans off in a shower, then through a double headed water blaster and into the mineral pool. It was fun.
On the beach is a brew pub/restaraunt called Luisanne. There is a great pool there a guest can enjoy all day for $1.50. Thats how I spent my last day in Nha Trang. There was a hospital ship in the harbour all week. I met some corpmen at the pool that had been given leave for the day. The ship is a U.S. Navy boat called the Mercy. There is a sister ship elsewhere called the Comfort. They sail around the world doing good deeds. Their main gig is called Operation Smile. They do cleft pallet surgeries on children. I asked if they carried Marines on board. He said if the Commadore is aboard there are two! These men were given leave because the brass aboard considered Nha Trang 'safe'. Oh 'Pulueezze'. The medic I talked with was surprised at how 'western' Nha Trang was. Come on, it's a goddam tourist town! He thinks they are going to Palau next. I mentioned that Palau has great medical and it would be a waste of their skills. He thought it was a waste for them to be in Nha Trang. The next day aboard a bus to Dalat I saw a man walking with his knee facing backward. One leg moved like a birds leg. Too bad he wasn't in Nha Trang. I ramble. In the afternoon I was invited to join some drunken Viet men. They bought me beer and wanted to be my friend. The loudest one couldn't even say 'Doahlah'. I got another new name "Joahlah". When he reached over to give my 'junk' a little squeeze, I decided it was time to leave. The young lady serving the table was very embarrased for her
countrymen.
I had a wonderful time in Nha Trang and hope to return someday.
Bye for now, Joahlah

Nha Trang, I love this town!

Halloh. I tromped around for thirty minutes finding my hotel to be told they had sent Yao to meet me at the train. No one told me. That was the first of several things the travel desk at my favorite Saigon hotel did to make my travels difficult. Anyhows...

I explored Nha Trang getting my bearings the first day. The second day I booked a boat trip. I chose Mama Linhs, famous for their floating bar. It's an excellant value at $7. They pick you up and drop you back at your hotel. There are four stops for snorkeling and swimming. Also a visit to the local aquarium. There is a lovely lunch prepared on board with fresh fish, soup, salads and prawns, rice and baguettes. After lunch is 'the live show'. Musician crewmen singing off key with out of tune instruments and a drum set made from buckets. Great fun. After lunch is the 'floating bar'. To get your free Mulberry wine, you gotta swim for it. It was mostly Viet passengers. Most stayed in their street clothes and watched us enjoying the water. The locals that were daring, paddled with life vests awkwardly out to the bar.There was another stop for swimming, then a visit to the local aquarium. All day long, beer and soft drinks are available at unbelievable prices. A can of Hanoi Bia is about65 cents. It is cheaper than staying ashore. I had so much fun I booked a trip with a different company the next day. The Hanh Cafe boat had wine but no floating bar, so after a day on shore, I booked another Mama Linh trip!
This is a photo of a very drunk former South Vietnam soldier who wanted to show me his bullet wounds, and a young woman from Singapore. Heres the food!

This little circular boat has a glass bottom. For a nominal fee, the boat 'captain' will paddle people around (with one oar tied to the boat) so they look at the fishes and coral.

I am still having one hell of a time with photos. I had my photos put on a disc thinking it would make things easier. The young man working nights in the hotel said they were put on the wrong kind of disc. So, he loaded them onto his laptop and then transfered them to the 'hard drive'? on the lobby computer. I have a format set up, but each new photo I installed pushed the previous ones arond . They became out of order. When I moved them around it made huge gaps in my text. The young fellow helped me again and again. AARRGGHHH!!!!!

I need a drink!

More later, Ducklass

Long time no write

Halloh. Sorry I haven't written. I didn't have much to write about when in Chiang Mai. Then when I hit the road I was busy moving about.
The only friends I hadn't connected with were Shaun and Boong, (the blessing). When I arrived in Thailand I went south to the islands and they were in C.M. We chatted on the phone. They were going south the day I headed north to C.M. Later, on the night train south I was looking out the window at the Lampang station and there was Shaun on the platform! He and Boong were going to BKK again to fly to Vancouver. We had a nice visit in the dining car sharing a bottle of Regence brandy. Arriving in BKK early we had time to kill and had another visit over coffee in the train station. I've again lost the ability to install photos onto this blog. The one computer I could get to work had Picasa installed. Oh well.
I spent a night in BKK and flew to Saigon. Two nice Vietnamese ladies offered to share their taxi. They had been on a one week holiday to Thailand. They wasted it by going to Pattaya. The sleeze capital of the country. What a shame. I got settled in to my hotel and arranged a sleeper train the next night for Nha Trang. Then I went straight to Bobby Brewers to watch a movie! I had met a Viet lady named Pom my previous trip. She was still working at the same bar. I bought Pom and two friends beers and shredded Cuttlefish from a street vendor. Her friend One, rents motorbikes next door. She suggested we (I) rent one the next day and Pom could drive me around. Pom weighs about 33 kilos. I must have been difficult rear ballast at 73 kilos.
The next day we met and she motored us out to a large amusement park. It was kinda stupid, but a lot of fun. There was a roller coaster that did a double inverted loop followed by a double corkscrew. There was a very tall ferris wheel. After being scared on the roller coaster, Pom wouldn't go on the ferris wheel. The view was impressive. I didn't see another westerner all afternoon. We headed back just as the rain started. Pom hadn't been to the park for ten years and got lost going back. Poms bar has no food but the famous Cafe Zoom will deliver from across the street. It's a great people watching area.
Racism is alive and healthy in Vietnam. There are many black Africans wandering the streets in the evening. They didn't look like tourists. The Vietnamese don't want them in their country. No one wanted to talk about them or tell me why they were there. Finally my guesthouse owner explained that they are football players looking for jobs on Viet pro soccer clubs. They get short time visas, and if the don't find a job they have to go home.
I said farewell to Pom and headed to the train station for an overnighter to Nha Trang. The sleeper train was very nice. I was in a four bunk cabin. There was only one other person, a young West Virginian named Hathan. The interior of the cabin and passage way were rough cut wood looking much like a sauna. Bottled water, a tasty baguette sandwich and coffee in the morning were included in the ticket price. Beer was available. Our attendant pounded on the door at sunrise. We thought we had overslept. She had coffee for us. We still had about two hours before arrival. The countryside was beautiful. There were many rice fields with farmers working their oxen. In Thailand many farmers are reverting back to oxen powered plows because of high fuel costs. The valley was rimmed with rugged hills on both sides. It was quite lovely. As I travel around this beautiful place I often imagine the sound of choppers and American troops tromping through the paddies looking for V.C.
Bye for now, Ducklass