Hai Phong & Cat Ba

Yikes - so my blog posts are long over due. I could make a hundred excuses as to why I haven't posted about the rest of my trip, but really it came down to sheer laziness! So, back to Vietnam...

Hai Phong & Cat Ba
January 29, 2009 - January 31, 2009

Guen and I left our big luggage at the hotel we were staying at in Hanoi, and took a small bag each with us on the bus to Hai Phong, which is a beach city and gateway to Ha Long Bay. The reason we went to this city was to meet up with a couch surfer named Mai, whom we had thought we could stay with, but in the end couldn't because of parental problems. Mai showed us around the city, we drank coffee, and then met up with another couch surfer named Leo. Leo took us to the beach, where we walked around, dug for crabs and chased chickens until it got dark.

(Mai, Guen and I at a coffee shop)

(Seashell rocks at the beach... Guen and Leo)

Later in the evening, Guenevere and I grabbed some food and met up with Mai again to go to the supermarket so we could buy a few snacks. To get to the supermarket, we borrowed Mai's bike. Guen peddled and I sat on the little rack behind her. It was really quite the adventure, although my butt hurt a bit and we got a little lost at one point. The supermarket was really disappointing too, but so it goes!

(Guenevere does not look happy to be on this ferry ride)

The next day we woke up SUPER early to catch a bus that would take us to the ferry port so we could catch the 6 a.m. ferry to Cat Ba Island. We walked to the bus stop Mai told us to wait at for the bus, but the bus never came! This was really frustrating, because we didn't have a map or a good sense of where we should walk toward, so we learned there was another bus stop we should go to for the bus. However, by this time we had already missed the ferry, so we grabbed breakfast before getting on the bus... and it was the shortest bus ride ever. We were so angry because we could have walked there the whole time!

(On the beach of Cat Ba)

Once we were on Cat Ba, we made our way to our hotel, which was super cute, and headed out to explore. At this time, we decided it would be a good idea to rent a motorbike - ha! The problem is that neither Guenevere nor I have ever driven a motorbike, so we had a quick lesson. Guen was made honorary driver because I was too short and scared. We successfully made our way to this beautiful beach and we parked the bike for a few hours while we explored. Around 1 p.m. we finally got hungry and decided to go find some food, however we couldn't get the stupid bike to start! Of course, a crowd gathered to watch us make fools of ourselves, and it was all very embarrassing. We did make it away though, and got some food, only to have problems starting it AGAIN! At this point, we decided to return the bike and hide ourselves from shame.

We actually took a nap at this point, and once we had finished with our nap, we took much needed showers and went to a restaurant for dinner. We were content with this being our night, however on our way home we heard some music coming from somewhere up above us. We were standing in the street trying to figure out where it was coming from when two Australian guys told us it was a bar and that we should come with them. So we did, of course. We were only going to stay for an hour, as we were tired, however we got roped into a game of pool with them, and then ended up talking with them forever, and free drinks kept coming at us. So, we stayed up the entire night and poor Guenevere got a tad bit sick from the alcohol, which was a problem because we had tickets to leave the island via ferry at 5:45 a.m. Oh the things we get ourselves in to.

That whole next day was kind of a blur. Guen was sick, we made it back to the Hanoi hotel, but she was basically out for the rest of the day. I managed to go to the water puppet show by myself, which was uber-creepy, and then went back to get her so we could catch our night train up to Sapa. We really don't make things easy on ourselves.

I Heart Pho

January 27, 2009

We really didn’t do anything on the morning or afternoon of the 27th, except wait around for our train, which left at 6 p.m. Our train was super nice – it was a soft sleeper, so there are only four people in a cabin. We also had awesome “roommates” who were both Chinese – Peter and Nana. Peter spoke really good English and teased us a lot, and helped with translations many times.

(Guen in our train room)

I think the train is a really easy and great way to get to Hanoi, and was pretty cheap. We did have to get off for customs twice during the night. Chinese customs was super fast, easy and efficient, but Vietnamese customs took a long time and was completely unorganized. We got through however and finally got to sleep around 1 a.m.


January 28, 2009

(You know you're in Vietnam when...)

We arrived in Hanoi around 6:30 a.m., and walked off the train feeling totally disoriented. First order of business was to find an ATM to take out Vietnamese Dong, then second order of business was to find a taxi to take us to our hotel. We knew we were going to pay too much for our taxi because we didn’t know the currency very well, nor where we were really, because the train from China takes you to a different station than the normal train station. We did finally get into a taxi and got to the hotel before they even opened their gate. We ended up sitting in the breakfast room for a few hours until we could put our stuff into the dorm room around 9 a.m. We did get breakfast though, so that was nice.

We took much-needed showers and then trekked around the city all day, seeing the lake, the history museum, some cool galleries, etc. We also bought our tickets to Sapa, after deciding we would enter China on a different border. Many things were still closed because of the New Year, which is called Tet in Vietnam. We later went out for food and drinks, however we couldn’t find food, so it ended up being just drinks! This seems to have been a reoccurring theme in Vietnam – we were just not eating very much. The night was really fun and we had a good time going out, as we hadn’t been able to since Hong Kong. However, the names of some bars were very misleading. For instance, we went to a bar called Funky Monkey – and it was not funky at all. The same holds true for Funky Buddha.

Here are a few of the things I love about Vietnam:

• Baguettes – I miss bread, and women sell baguettes on the street for very cheap. Yum!
• Vietnamese Coffee – Condensed milk in coffee is like a bit of heaven.
• Balloons – They were everywhere, I have never witnessed a culture so into balloons, and it made me happy.
• Pho – The famous Vietnamese soup is, of course, delicious and readily available on the street.
• Beaches – I’ve much missed these as well. I liked getting my toes wet and sand in my shoes.

(Balloons!)

Psychedelic Caves, Jagged Cliffs and Fireworks in Guilin

Hello everyone! I'm sorry for the huge gap between posts - I had them written, but haven't had a chance to post. I'm currently in Kunming - on a 12 hour stint before heading to Chengdu - so more about that is to come. Only one more week of traveling... I'm really sad to be leaving now!


January 24, 2009

Guen and I arrived in Guilin in the morning via the craziest bus ride I have had in my life. We got to the bus station about 30 minutes before it was to leave and piled onto the sleeper bus. Our “beds” were all the way in the back – and there were five “beds” in a row… so Guen slept next to the window, I slept next to her, and a Chinese woman slept next to me. We were all very cozy; however the ride was incredibly bumpy. We learned from our host the next day that a bus on the same route had fallen off a cliff maybe a day before we left – crazy! We were very happy we didn’t know this information before we left.

We were not sure what time the bus would arrive in Guilin, but assumed sometime around 9 or 10 a.m., however we were rudely informed at 4:30 a.m. that we had already arrived! So, because the bus was uncomfortable, and we happened to be under the squeakiest area of the bus, we got no sleep and were forced to leave our cocoon to brave the cold wind in Guilin. We were couch surfing again, so we did not want to call our host and wake him, so we trekked about 2 km to a 24 hour McDonalds, the only thing which is open at this time and is warm, to sit out our next few hours. We played cards and drank coffee to pass the time.

(Our host Alex in a rickshaw thing, on our way to Seven Stars Park)

At 9 a.m., we called our host Alex and took a taxi to his apartment. He showed us around his apartment, let us freshen up and then played our guide for the day! He went with us to Qixing Gongyuan – Seven Stars Park – to see some of the famous Guilin cliffs. Lots of photo taking ensued, and it was hailing on us for the first part of our visit. We also went into the Seven Stars Cave, which was really cool and of course illuminated in multi-colored lights, a la China.

(Camel Rock at Seven Stars Park)

(The caves, lit up by amazing multi-colored lights - I remember the second formation was called People watching Theater)

We then walked around, had a really great and cheap local noodle dish, went to the train station to look into tickets to Vietnam, toured the lake, did some Chinese exercises in the park, got dinner and did some night market shopping. My one mission at the night market was to buy a red sting. The Lunar New Year was only two years away, and it is the year of the Ox – my zodiac year! The Chinese believe that when it is the year of your zodiac sign, you will have bad luck (boo), so you must buy a red sting and tie it on you somewhere to ward off bad luck. I was able to find a good red sting and I picked a jade bead for it, which now hangs around my neck.

(Twin Pagodas on the Lake)

(These are the greatest inventions ever - free exercise machines in the park!)

We also tried a new food called lotus flower cake – which Alex informed us is a specialty of Beijing. It was really interesting and had the texture of a glutinous pudding, and was topped with black sesames, rice powder, raisins, hawthorn flakes and dates. Alex was a great sport about taking us around, but we were all super tired from the day. When we got home, Guen and I also did lots of investigating into how we would get to Vietnam, which was a total headache.

(Guen eating Lotus Cake - yum!)

January 25, 2009

(Limestone cliffs from our raft)

January 25 was Lunar New Year’s Eve, and everyone was bustling around getting ready for the festivities. We woke up early and hopped on a bus to Yangshuo, which is an hour away and known for it’s amazing limestone peaks. Unfortunately it was cold and raining, so it made walking around difficult, but Yangshou was absolutely beautiful. Our first order of business was to order beer fish, which is a local specialty. It was really yummy, but I’m not the biggest fan of looking at my fish’s head and eyes while I’m picking at his body.

(Beer fish)

After our lunch, we walked around West Street, and then went to the river. We were able to bargain with a woman to get a bamboo raft ride on the river for only 30 Yuan, so we hopped on the boat and took a 40 minute ride around the river. We were snuggled up to each other for warmth, and I imagine it would have been a very romantic thing to do with someone.

(Pictures of the Li River - and our bamboo raft)

After we had exhausted our sites, we headed back to Guilin and went back to Alex’s house. We all relaxed for a while before deciding to venture out for food; however, there were no restaurants open near his house because of the New Year, so instead we bought a TON of fireworks. We went back to his house to make dinner and watch some of the New Year programming on TV, which is supposedly watched by almost everyone in China. We then went into his courtyard and put on our own mini fireworks display, which included bursting wand things, a huge red and green firework, and some fun spinning popper things.

(Our fireworks bounty)

(Guen and I with our fireworks)

When midnight hit, we watched the craziest fireworks display on earth. Everyone was setting off their own fireworks and it was so smoky that it seemed like day! The noise from fireworks, of course, went through the next day. It was really fun to participate in the festivities and play with explosives! Guen and I then went to bed, as we had to wake up early to catch a train to Nanning – another city we didn’t want to visit, but had to out of necessity.


January 26, 2009

We arrived in Nanning around 1 p.m. and tried to buy our tickets to Hanoi, Vietnam right away; however they were sold out for that night, so we had to buy the tickets for the next night. This meant we lost a day in Nanning, but it was the Chinese Lunar New Year… so we immediately found a hotel, which was very reasonably priced, and then walked around town to get lunch and see what was happening. We were surprised by how many people were out and about, and by how many stores were open.

This is basically all I have to say about Nanning though, because it really is just a stop on the way. We spent some time trying to catch up on sleep and watch some movies.

Sidetracked in Guangzhou

We are FINALLY out of Hong Kong, and are very happy to return to the prices on mainland China. Hong Kong was beautiful, but difficult on our budget. Plus, we were really anxious to continue with our travels and try to buy our tickets to our next destination, as we were unable to buy train or bus tickets within China in Hong Kong.

Guen and I had some moments of anxiety as plane tickets to Guilin and Vietnam were really expensive... so we moved on to the easiest city to get to in China - Guangzhou. Guangzhou is a major industrial city in China, and is huge and kind of dirty. We didn't really have a desire to go to this city, but had to because we needed to try and buy tickets to our next city from here. Luckily, a couple in Guangzhou, who we found through couchsurfing, is letting us stay in their apartment for two days.

We arrived in Guangzhou last night buy bus and took a taxi to the area where the couple - Aga (from Poland) and David (from Portugal) - live. They live in a really beautiful gated area of Guangzhou, so we are living in luxury at the moment. Aga got us settled into our rooms and we chatted for some time about traveling and the city. She showed us maps of Guangzhou and directed us to the area where we should go to buy tickets.

This morning, Aga and David drove us to a metro station so we could get to the train station. Guen and I arrived at the train station and were astounded by the amount of people. This time of year is the worst time of year to travel in China because of the Lunar New Year. The actual New Year is on Monday, Jan. 26, but people are traveling now - it is like Christmas in America! Everyone is trying to get to family and transportation books up very quickly. The train station was a complete mess and we couldn't even figure out where to buy tickets, so we headed to the bus station and got very lucky. We bought two tickets to Guilin on a bus that leaves tomorrow evening (another overnight bus).

(A small view of the train station courtyard)

For the rest of the day, we walked around Guangzhou, found a place to use the Internet and have afternoon tea, and then met Aga, David and some of their friends for dinner at a Turkish restaurant. We also went to a really cool bar that had live Reggae music and was hidden behind this weird building. I think both of us feel relieved to have tickets to our next city.

(Guen at our afternoon tea)

As for a quick recap of our last few days in Hong Kong:

Monday, we had dim sum with Guen's friends who live in Hong Kong, Grace and Celine. These girls are so sweet and took us to their University to have dim sum, which was excellent. Dim sum is a specialty of Hong Kong, so it was nice to have something authentic to the region. They then took us shopping in Mong Kok, which has the cheaper shopping in Hong Kong, and Guen and I bought some cardigans and I got a really cute dress (probably didn't need it, but I bought it... oh well!).

(Grace, Guen, Celine and Me on Mong Kok)

(Mmmm, taro and black sesame coconut egg balls)

On Tuesday, we left Vincent's apartment to move to a guest house on Kowloon, as Vincent had other guests visiting. Our room at the guest house was super, super small; only a double bed and a tiny walk way next to it. It was really clean though and the manager was incredibly sweet. We then headed to Lantau - an island near Hong Kong Island - by ferry. We then took a bus up to a giant Buddha and Buddhist temple and had a picnic! Around 5 p.m., we headed back to Kowloon via metro to meet Grace. Grace took us to Victoria Peak to see an aerial view of the city at night, which was amazing! It was really cold though, and neither Guen nor I had on appropriate clothing, so we took a very steep and fast tram down the hill and all got dinner at a Hong Kong-style restaurant.

(The big Buddha on Lantau)

After dinner we hit the big nightlife street on the island, and all drank "inauguration" shots in honor of Obama. The inauguration was set to happen in just a few hours, so everyone was very excited! We danced a bit, but headed back to our hostel before the trains stopped at midnight. We then watched the inauguration live on TV via the BBC. Obama's speech was amazing and I couldn't believe the amount of people who were there to see him sworn in! I'm so sad to have missed being in America for this moment.

The next day, we picked up our new visas for China and walked around Hong Kong some more before leaving for Guangzhou. I was very sad to leave Hong Kong and may look into someday returning - possibly to get my MBA. I really liked the city, and think I would like it even more if I had some money ;-)

Hong Kong & Updates

(Double-Decker bus on Hong Kong Island)

Sorry for the long delay in writing, but I’ve not been able to use the Internet lately! So, an update on what I’ve been up to:
January 14

I visited the terracotta soldiers! I ended up going on a tour through my hostel even though I hate going on tours to things, but it ended up being worth it and I met a lot of great people in the process. The price also sounded about right, so I didn’t feel too bad spending the money when it was so convenient. I was surprised at everything I learned about the soldiers, and that they have only so far restored 2,000 of the soldiers, but have discovered about 8,000 soldiers. Every face is different, and their hair tells you their ranks. It was a little overwhelming to see all of them, and I can only imagine what it would have looked like when they were all created.

(Me and the Soldiers)

Later that night I ended up having dinner and drinks with all of the people I met on my tour. I was out far too late because I had to wake up at 4:30 in the morning to pack and leave for the airport bus.
January 15

I trekked early in the morning to catch my bus to the airport and then took a flight down to Shenzhen! Shenzhen was really just a stop on the way to Hong Kong though, which is where I still am. Guen flew the same day into the Shenzhen airport, and I met her when her flight arrived so that we could travel together into Hong Kong. We ended up taking a bus to Hong Kong and arrived around 6 p.m., but then had to take the metro to a stop to find our couch surfing host, Vincent, whom we found through couchsurfers.com. We were much later than we expected though, and we didn’t have a phone that worked or his phone number, so we had to find a place to use our computers to call him with Skype.

We finally arrived at his house around 7:30 p.m., and got settled a bit, then went to the grocery store to buy food to make dinner for him. His stipulation if you stay on his house is that you must make one dinner for him, so we made savory crepes and baked apples. We finally went to bed around midnight and both of us were SO tired from all the traveling and stress of getting into a new city. However, I love Hong Kong and could really live here I think… maybe some day.
January 16

(Sunset from Hong Kong Island)

Guen and I had to take care of visa issues in the morning. We first went to the Vietnamese consulate and got our visas for Vietnam, which we got in 15 minutes, and then we went to a travel agent to get our Chinese visas, which will take 4 working days. So we must stay in Hong Kong until Wednesday because the rush service was way too much money. After we got the visa things all settled, we walked around, had lunch and then met up with Vincent, our couch surfing host, and another American whom he had lunch with earlier that day. He took us to another city on Hong Kong Island where we got off on a mountain and then took a long hike above the water and watched the sunset. It was beautiful, but much longer than we expected and Guen and I were not wearing hiking shoes. We made our way down the hill just as it was getting dark, walked around Stanley (the city) and then took a bus back. We made dinner again, because eating out in Hong Kong is so expensive.

(Hike near Stanley - Guen, Me and Vincent)

January 17

(Guen and I with our bikes)

Guen and I slept in a little bit this morning and then woke up, had breakfast, made sandwiches and set off with Vincent to the Northern Territories of HK to go on a bike ride. It ended up being a very long bike ride (I’m not a regular bike rider, so it was a little difficult for me, and my butt). I also had a few accidents… it seems people like to walk in front of me often. I fell off my bike when I landed wrong on a curb once, and then crashed into a big bike thing which in turn knocked over three other bikes. I’m such a klutz! It was really embarrassing. Later, the handle to my bike came loose and I couldn’t ride it until a man came and helped us tighten it up… but it was still a little iffy. However, I’m very proud that I did make it, as it was a very long and mountainous ride. You can see pictures of some of the scenery and the dam area below.

(Me on my bike - on a reservoir)

Later in the evening, Guen and I took a bus back to Kowloon to see the light show on Hong Kong Island. All of the big buildings on HK Island light up and spit off lasers into the sky, so we watched it for a while and then tried to find a grocery store for our picnic the next day. We planned to go to the beach and possibly swim because the weather is so nice.

(Laser show on HK Island)

Xi'an Shenanigans

Monday night I left Beijing solo, as my friend Abdul went back to Dalian a bit earlier than expected. I wasn't able to get a train ticket, as you may remember, so I had to take another overnight bus! This one was especially fun - I was on a top bunk bed, over the toilet! Luxurious, eh? It didn't smell actually and I made a nice little nook for myself. Luckily, there were three other westerns on my bus - 2 from the US and 1 from South Africa/Australia. We were able to chat on the stops and happened to all be going to the same hostel, so we grabbed a cab together when we got into Xi'an after the 15+ hour trip.

Yesterday I got situated in my room, took a much needed shower and then set off alone to see some of the sites of the city. I saw the bell tower, the drum tower, went through the Muslim quarter and saw the Great Mosque (which is the largest Mosque in China and is very Chinese looking compared to other mosques I have seen), and ate lunch in the Muslim quarter. I have a feeling they don't get a lot of westerners in the little restaurant I went in to, because everyone just kept staring and smiling at me and asking me if I liked the food. It was very good - a bowl of soup with beef, vermicelli noodles, and lots of bread that had been shredded into the soup.

After wandering around until about 5 p.m., I came back to the hostel and went to the restaurant to get tea after I discovered one of the girls in my dorm room was sleeping. I read for a while and then a guy from Sweden named Ruben came up and started talking to me. We ended up talking for a long time, getting dinner and then drinks before he had to leave to get ready to leave in the morning. He is on his way to Tibet. It's always nice when you meet really awesome strangers though, and I've met a lot at this hostel! After he left, I met up with the people who I met on my bus and had a few drinks with them before going to sleep.

This morning I went on a tour with some people from my hostel to see the terracotta soldiers. It was a really good group of people (there were 10 of us), and a really cute and funny tour guide. The terracotta soldiers were awesome and I can just imagine what else is hidden under the ground out there. The people on the tour were from all over - Australia, Holland, Scotland, Puerto Rico and the States. I'm looking forward to seeing them later today!

Tomorrow I'm off to Shenzhen to meet my friend Guen, and then we cross into Hong Kong together. Sorry for the lack of photos, but I'll have to load them later as the Internet connection is too slow here. I'm looking forward to weather a little warmer!

Ashley & Abdul Take Beijing... and the Great Wall

(Forbidden City)

January 10, 2009

Today we saw the obligatory Beijing sites - Tienanmen Square, the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Beihei Park. We also went to an Acrobatics show!

So, the unfortunate news is that the trains to Xi'an for Monday are sold out. So lame! So, I'm going to have to take another overnight bus... but I can't buy the bus tickets until the morning of, because they aren't on sale in advance. Ugh! Oh well, Xi'an will be great and it will be fun to see the terracotta soldiers - and then I'll be on my way to Hong Kong to meet up with Guen!

(In Tienanmen Square - Making an ugly face because of the sun)

So far, I really like Beijing and kinda wish I had lived here. There is so much more to do, so much more history and culture. Plus, I kinda love the rush of such a big city, and the challenge of trying to figure out the public transportation system. There are also so many more foreigners than I'm used to. I find myself staring at them all the time, which I know must be annoying, but I'm so used to being one of a few of foreigners. I also love the scale of this city. It is HUGE! I won't even be able to scrape it in the few days that I am here. Walking through the Forbidden City alone was quite the trek.

(At the forbidden city in the garden area)


(Gate at the Temple of Heaven)

As for the acrobatics show, it was really good and of course had lots of fabulous costumes and glitter! The theater was a bit empty, but this is also not the tourist season, so it is to be expected. I think my favorite act was the "ball catcher" who juggled many balls in crazy fashion all while tap dancing - how random is that?

PS: I'm sorry I'm wearing the same thing everyday - I really am wearing different clothes underneath... you just can't tell because the coat and accessories are necessary.

(In part of the Temple of Heaven complex)

January 11, 2009

(Bundled up to tackle the Great Wall)

Abdul and I went to the Great Wall (Changcheng) today! We did so without a tour, which made me feel very proud of our China navigating skills. We took the 919 bus out to Badaling - sure it's a way more touristy section of the wall, but it's not exactly tourist season, so it wasn't too crowded. It is also the nearest section of the wall to Beijing, so we had lots of time to hang out there then come back and do something else.

I told Abdul I was prepared to be disappointed by the wall because of all they hype, but I wasn't at all. It really is amazing and I'm glad I saw it, despite the fact that I got wind burn from the freezing cold winds that whipped through the mountains.


We took the cable car thing down the wall and then had a Starbucks at the bottom! Oh that pesky Seattle coffee establishment - it truly is EVERYWHERE. After we got back (we had a miserable ride back on the bus), Abdul went back to the hostel and I set out on the number 38 bus to the LiuLiQiao long distance bus station to buy my bus ticket to Xi'an. However, once I got off on the LiuLiQiao bus stop, I couldn't find the station!

I asked tons of people, in my very poor Chinese, where the station was, and everyone pointed me in different directions. Then I went into a hotel thinking that they could help, and I got a woman to write down where to go for a taxi, but it was wrong! It took me to another bus station nearby. The girl there helped point me in the right direction, and I finally go to the station and bought my ticket. By the time I got back on the 38 bus to go back to the hostel, the whole ordeal had taken 4 hours. I was sooooo incredibly frustrated. However, I was also kinda proud of myself that I did it myself.

I ended the day by meeting Abdul at a Korean BBQ place to have dinner and cook some meat. Yum! At this restaurant you can buy dog meat - I was a little curious, but couldn't bring myself to try it. That will have to be one meat I will never know the taste of... besides, where do they get these dogs?

I'm not sure what we're going to do tomorrow, but it's sure to be great! Stay tuned for more (it may be a few days since I leave for Xi'an tomorrow evening).