South Vietnam

No, not as in North versus South Vietnam, but more from a blogging and travel convenience point of view, although this country is still reeling from the effects of war and their version of the story is something to behold. Seeing is believing; experiencing is knowing; and that is part of why we travel.

Before Ricky and Michelle made their way back to Bangkok to pack up a few things and head home, I was encouraged by the envious looks on their faces as they helped us plan the next stage of our journey - Vietnam. They had recently explored this long and narrow country and had some very useful tips and advice for us. Their look of envy was justified by what I can tell so far.

We mapped out a general route and time frames for the 18 or so days we plan to spend here and so far we’ve only adjusted by one day. The main stops being Ho Chi Minh City, Mui Ne, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue, Hanoi and Halong Bay. Given the vast expanse of land running North - South and the general means of transport in these parts, I was fairly concerned about the travelling in-between the identified stop offs. Being 6f3 in a country where the average height is around 5f0 (generous I should think but short of the hard facts here), discussing things like ’12 hour overnight buses’ that are not designed for giraffes such as myself, is not really my idea of a holiday; in fact, it’s a little troubling. Luckily South East Asia has stepped up once again and the ends have more than justified the means on every occasion.

Some impressions:

Ho Chi Minh is an electric place and everything can and is done on the street. The War History Museum was hard hitting and the Cu Chi tunnels nearby were fascinating. How the best option can be to tunnel underground and live there blows my mind and to actually see the conditions and crawl through those passageways (widened for larger Westerners as myself) is not something I will soon forget

A Top Gun moment at the museum. 

There were fewer smiles happening inside

Kara making her way through the Cu Chi tunnels

The Mekong Delta is massive, the trip we took had many cool sights and staying with a family there was humbling and thoroughly enjoyable

Cruising up a canal of the Mekong River

There are some incredible sights lining the river

The floating market

What's for sale on board is tied to the top of long sticks of bamboo

Mui Ne was a chance to take it easy and enjoy the beach atmosphere. Cycling to the fishing village and fairy spring nearby was a thoroughly enjoyable day out

Our digs for a couple of days

Local lady making her way up the Fairy Spring

Cycling to the fishing village nearby was totally worth it

Some of the hundreds of fishing boats in Mui Ne

We only dedicated one day to Nha Trang but we made the most of the well renowned night life, the beautiful stretch of beach, the Hon Chong Promontory, the Thap Ba Ponagar and my first mud bath. I’m embarrassed to say my skin was amazingly smooth afterwards - a pleasure really

Chilling out with an iced coffee at Chong Rocks

Po Nagar Cham Towers on the hill overlooking Nha Trang

The ancient and traditional looks and ways of Hoi An are beautiful and I finally own a (very reasonably priced) tailored suit; and you know what they say: a well tailored suit on a man is to women what lingerie is to men.

The streets of Hoi An at night

A wedding couple having pictures taken at a lantern stall

The Japanese Covered Bridge

Tea sketching out my bespoke specs at Lana Tailors

Hue has the Citadel and some incredible tombs near by visited on the back of motorbikes - what would mom have to say about that! Khai Dinh Tomb was most definitely the highlight of the three.

The massive flag at the Citadel

(notice the scale of the man in the bottom right)

Trang Tien Bridge lights up spectacularly at night

The guards at Khai Dinh Tomb

The best means of transport in these cities

Some cards and a beer to finish off the day

A day in Bangkok and then Cambodia

After 3 weeks in Nepal, I was ready for the familiar caucasian faces of Ricky and Michelle who had been teaching English in Bangkok up until the day we arrived. While I am fairly comfortable with the colour of my skin and general appearance, I did become relatively self conscious after either: “but people in South Africa are black”; or “you need to buy a ticket” as streams of locals cruised in past security, yet we were identified as the type that would need to pay in order to see the site. After numerous encounters of this nature, the standard exchange became:

Security guard of sort: “You need ticket”

Me (with a look of surprise as ‘locals’ walk in hassle-free): “Is it because I am white?”

Security guard of sort: “You need ticket… buy over there”

Me (still faking the look of surprise): “I see these other people don’t seem to need tickets”

Security guard of sort: “Ticket over there”

Success of these exchanges: fruitless. While I understand that rife poverty in Nepal necessitates the distinction between ‘tourist’ and ‘local’ in one of their largest income producing industries, I am offended by the manner in which the distinction is made, based purely on looks. A battle with which I am not going to engage on my holiday; so moving on then.

As Ricky and Michelle had been based in Thailand and only had a few precious days for exploring left before heading back to South Africa, they were keen to head swiftly on to Cambodia which they had yet to visit. Kara and I were keen for this agenda as this meant finishing up in Thailand and hopefully some time out on some amazing islands there. And Cambodia did not disappoint.

Due to time constraints we planned two main stop offs in this country with a soon to be discovered wonderful vibe: Siem Riep and Phnom Penh. My expectations of both were unfounded and limited, based on some pictures I’d seen of Angkor on the web and some my brothers had taken. But nothing could quite prepare me for the incredible ancient temples in their various states of ruin and restoration up close. Siem Riep is also an incredible town-base from which to explore the area. Phnom Penh threw some city buzz and astounding history at us which saturated me with a wide range of emotions: distressed; ecstatic; vanquished; vivacious; and more.

The pictures selected err on the experiences associated with the awesome rather than the tragic:

Exploring the incredible pagodas and temples in Bangkok

The electric chaos of the streets in Bangkok

Temples of Angkor were incredible

The caucasians

Temples of Angkor

Ta Prohm is overrun by the trees and flora in general

Angkor Wat at sunrise

Angkor Wat

Jay taking us to the Killing Fields on a tuk tuk

Travelling allows you to meet some great people and Jay is one of them 

Bracelets left in memorial/condolence at the Killing Fields

The temple filled to the roof with the skulls of some of the thousands killed

Neplausible

Finally, some competition for South Africa for the coolest flag in the world. 

While I remember seeing the Nepalese flag as I paged through World Book volume F (flags) as a youngster, I had no idea, or intention for that matter, to see the country to which it belongs. Trekking has been a favourite activity since I was ten, however the Himalayas remained a distant, mysterious and mountainous wonderland - as I understood - not accessible to your average long weekend type hiker such as myself.

When Kara, my travel companion for the first two and a half months of my venture, indicated that she was keen to go to Nepal for some trekking, I was skeptical of her sources and intentions. But she soon put me straight regarding my visions of hiking to elevations beyond 8000m, ice axe in hand and frostbitten toes in boots. Google images and some further reading on the Annapurna Base Camp trek provided further supporting material, with stories and images of incredible scenery being traversed by many people, some of whom very inexperienced hikers. Furthermore, for a reasonable additional charge, we had the option of hiring a guide and a porter to ease our concerns. Naturally I was in for some of that action.

However, no amount of Google images or general research could have prepared me for the eleven day expedition to Poon Hill (3210m) and Annapurna Base Camp (4130m) and the ranging levels of: the tough; the spectacular; and the below freezing temperatures. I’m glad Kara and I can laugh in hindsight at our anticipation of “perhaps some snow up at Base Camp, otherwise spring days and coldish nights should be the order of the day”. It rained the first day and as we shivered after a long and steep climb it began to snow as well. We were still to ascend thousands of meters to the base of some of the highest mountains in the world. 

The scenery and experience more than compensated our numb toes and peeling noses:

View from our 'tea house' balcony on the first night - not exactly spring conditions

We awoke around 5 to ensure we made it to the top of Poon Hill from our accommodation at Ghorepani for sunrise.

The 360 degree view of the Himalayas was spectacular

Sunrise at Poon Hill from the view tower pictured above

While pictures of mountains can't compare to the real thing; sometimes they give it a go

These are two of many porters taking a break. They trek up and down the mountain bringing supplies to the various tea houses and base camps, sometimes carrying loads of up to 40kg

Kara approaching Machapuchre Base Camp. 

The view of the mountains we'd trekked to see obscured in mysterious cloud

Posing in front of Annapurna South at Annapurna Base Camp

From right to left: Kara (first time trekker), Ganga (our guide), Ram (our porter) and me

View of 'Machapuchre' meaning 'fish tail'. It's sacred and forbidden to be climbed

Making our way back down from Base Camp on a crisp day

It wasn't just the mountains that provided some awesome backdrops to the trek

Initial musings and tribluations

The idea to take a year to travel some of the amazing countries this globe has to offer began to materialise halfway through last year. Inspiration came in many forms and together they left me with little choice but to pursue what became the obvious and, in time, only option. In no particular order, they were:

1. A general love of travel, sparked by some limited experience

2. My three brothers and their stories of far away lands, cultures and constant encouragement

3. The desire to work a ski season

4. Friends’ constant reminder via Facebook and other social media of their own incredible travel experiences

5. The look of envy on people’s faces when I began to talk of my plan

I’m not ashamed to admit that the idea of travel, particularly to countries where English is not a first language, or at least not spoken easily, is intimidating. I am also not a fan of administration, so the idea of Visas and renewing passports was a hurdle that would need to be overcome. The ‘good life’ (thanks Mom and Dad) I was living and developed after the vast majority of my life spent in Joburg was comfortable, and as it turned out, I was far more entrenched than I thought. Things like cell phone contracts and medical aid are restrictive and not as catered to individuals’ needs and desires as the service providers would like you to think. Nonetheless, it became obvious that these excuses were not going to hold up against the mounting evidence promoting such a venture: adventure; trekking foreign lands; taste sensations; new friends; beaches; mountains; and my general travel ignorance.

I took a look at my options and jotted down a few thoughts and after ten minutes or so, had a plan that was pretty much what I have settled on:

While this is really just my flight plan, I hope to fill in the details as I go.

I hope this blog will be the first of many depictions of good times and places; it’s a little late on the chronology side, but now that I am free of the saga and panic that was packing up my life in Joburg, I can play a bit of catch up.