Sunday, March 11, 2007
Leaving Hanoi
Well, I'm just about out of here. I have to say that I will be glad to be home tomorrow. I returned to Hanoi from Sapa on the overnight train yesterday. Major problems were averted when an English speaking guide helped me with the process to get my bike on the train. I would have never figured it out. Through a locked gate, wait for the right person to issue the tag, pay, take the bike to the luggage car at the back of the train, find the attendant, give him the bike and the proper ticket and then keep the correct ticket in order to pick the bike up in Hanoi. It would have been almost impossible. The ride on the train was ok, and I slept well. After arriving in Hanoi, I rode my bike to the hotel and then was met by my guide to explore in town. We went to the Museum of Ethnology and the Military Museum. Both were extremely interesting and both helped deepen my understanding of Vietnam and her struggles. For dinner I went to an Indian restaurant where I was joined at the table by two incredible nice gentlemen from Dehli. I was sitting there just killing time until I left, which was quite in contrast to my intention when I left the hotel. I asked myself what it would take to have a great last evening in Hanoi. I didn't come up with anything, but then these guys joined me at my table and we had the best conversation. India, America, health insurance, the caste system, etc... I will go to India next. I am now going to pack and head for the airport. See you all back home! Love, Geoff
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Sapa
Hey Gang,
Just a quick post from Sapa. I made the last huge climb yesterday in fine style, although I was a bit disappointed that Vietnam's highest and most spectacular road was completely shrouded in mist, obscuring any view of the valley below. I had a great little snack of steamed rice stuffed in a piece of bamboo at a construction site yesterday. They were felling a couple of trees and one fell right where a few of us had been before we elected to move. No one directed us in any way, and I think we could have just stood there and been crushed. The Victoria is a beautiful hotel, although I feel pretty removed from Vietnam here. It is definitely not like the experience I have been having. Well, I am off to rent a Minsk and tool around in the fog. I am going to hit some villages and take some pics.
Take care,
Geoff
Just a quick post from Sapa. I made the last huge climb yesterday in fine style, although I was a bit disappointed that Vietnam's highest and most spectacular road was completely shrouded in mist, obscuring any view of the valley below. I had a great little snack of steamed rice stuffed in a piece of bamboo at a construction site yesterday. They were felling a couple of trees and one fell right where a few of us had been before we elected to move. No one directed us in any way, and I think we could have just stood there and been crushed. The Victoria is a beautiful hotel, although I feel pretty removed from Vietnam here. It is definitely not like the experience I have been having. Well, I am off to rent a Minsk and tool around in the fog. I am going to hit some villages and take some pics.
Take care,
Geoff
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Tam Duong
Damn, I am tired. & days of 5-6 hours on the bike, with a ton of brutal climbing has really taken it's toll. Tomorrow is the last day of riding and that's OK. Today was a lumpy 100K along the Da river between Lai Chau and Tam Duong. Lai Chau was a dump and TD is not much better. The air is filled with smoke from the piles of leaves raked from the gutters that burn all along the roadside. Great sentence structure there, huh? I went by a burning pile last night that was so acrid I began coughing. Must have been burning old paint cans.
The hotel in Lai Chau was passable. Large roaches and many mosquitos, but what do you want? The place tonight is much better. Todat was pretty mellow for me generally. I have gotten into a bit of a groove and the travelling is becoming much easier.
All along the road today were beutiful villages of the numerous hilltribes that populate this area. The people work deep in the hills cutting stuff down. I saw a bunch of meat on a table and included were all 4 legs! Yum. I'm tired. Catch ya later.
Geoff
The hotel in Lai Chau was passable. Large roaches and many mosquitos, but what do you want? The place tonight is much better. Todat was pretty mellow for me generally. I have gotten into a bit of a groove and the travelling is becoming much easier.
All along the road today were beutiful villages of the numerous hilltribes that populate this area. The people work deep in the hills cutting stuff down. I saw a bunch of meat on a table and included were all 4 legs! Yum. I'm tired. Catch ya later.
Geoff
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Finally...
Ok, so after 20 minutes of waiting for this page to load, I guess I'll get started. Crazy how used to fast and convenient I am. Today I rode from Dien Bien Phu to Lai Chau, through Muong Lay. It was another gorgeous day with a nice cooler temp, around 80. The ride started easy and pretty much stayed that way until Muong Lay. I stopped there for lunch of stir fried veggies and rice with the saltiest fried egg I ahve ever had. Greasiest too. Maybe it was MSG? Anyway, after leaving ML, the climb started. Choking on my greasy egg I knocked out some serious threshold work for an hour and a half. After the top, I decended to Lai Chau on the most incredible road since the Izoard. I am staying at the Lan Ahn Hotel, rm 608 if anyone feels like calling Vietnam.
The countryside has become populated by primarily hill-tribe folks. H'mong mostly, and I believe some Dao. The clothes are just incredible. Beautiful dresses, tassled headscarves, hand woven handbags carried by all the schoolkids. I have been chased by so many kids on bikes. It's amazing how long they keep up. I usually try to give the last one with me a treat of some kind. A little gold star in the form of a can of pop or a bit of change.
Today I have been thinking about the value of money. I don't know exactly where I am going to go with this, but here goes. When one brings up the subject of sweatshops, or Nike paying their overseas workers $3-4 per day, the argument usually goes "but everything over there is so much cheaper. They don't need more than that and they can live on that wage." This argument is very true on the surface. People can absolutely survive on very low wages here.
I have been considering what brings me joy in life. Travel, leisure, art, music, hobbies, etc... To most people living here, and in many other countries in the world, these things are unattainable. Let's just take travel for instance. A person in Moc Chau can live, buy a house and maybe even a scooter on $90 a month. Can they buy a plane ticket somewhere? Well, tickets are generally priced for the first world, so the answer is no. They can work and survive, but in the context of my world, they have very few options. Should everyone be able to travel all over? I don't know. Maybe not. Maybe it's too resource intensive considering the number of people who would like to travel.
Imagine if a ticket to NYC cost $50,000. When would you go? Probably never. I don't know where I'm going with this anymore! Oh well.
I was thinking about what the world would look like if it was a big house (which it is.) I can imagine one big room with A/C and a plasma screen. That's where I live with a few of my friends and family. There are many other smaller, more crowded, but still nice rooms. That's where the other white people and the Japanese live. Then there are a bunch of closets packed with people. India, China, Mexico, SE Asia, Africa, the American poor. I could share some of my space, but I don't. I keep the door locked and stay cool and comfortable.
This is one unjust world. Help me understand how it can change. Could it be a movement that makes excessive consumption unpopular? Can it all be put into a human context that would shift the desire to have more and more? Do we really need Paris Hilton, Bennifer, TomKat and the entire industry that has us believing that not only are they desireabl, but that we can be just like them? Madness!
Geoff
The countryside has become populated by primarily hill-tribe folks. H'mong mostly, and I believe some Dao. The clothes are just incredible. Beautiful dresses, tassled headscarves, hand woven handbags carried by all the schoolkids. I have been chased by so many kids on bikes. It's amazing how long they keep up. I usually try to give the last one with me a treat of some kind. A little gold star in the form of a can of pop or a bit of change.
Today I have been thinking about the value of money. I don't know exactly where I am going to go with this, but here goes. When one brings up the subject of sweatshops, or Nike paying their overseas workers $3-4 per day, the argument usually goes "but everything over there is so much cheaper. They don't need more than that and they can live on that wage." This argument is very true on the surface. People can absolutely survive on very low wages here.
I have been considering what brings me joy in life. Travel, leisure, art, music, hobbies, etc... To most people living here, and in many other countries in the world, these things are unattainable. Let's just take travel for instance. A person in Moc Chau can live, buy a house and maybe even a scooter on $90 a month. Can they buy a plane ticket somewhere? Well, tickets are generally priced for the first world, so the answer is no. They can work and survive, but in the context of my world, they have very few options. Should everyone be able to travel all over? I don't know. Maybe not. Maybe it's too resource intensive considering the number of people who would like to travel.
Imagine if a ticket to NYC cost $50,000. When would you go? Probably never. I don't know where I'm going with this anymore! Oh well.
I was thinking about what the world would look like if it was a big house (which it is.) I can imagine one big room with A/C and a plasma screen. That's where I live with a few of my friends and family. There are many other smaller, more crowded, but still nice rooms. That's where the other white people and the Japanese live. Then there are a bunch of closets packed with people. India, China, Mexico, SE Asia, Africa, the American poor. I could share some of my space, but I don't. I keep the door locked and stay cool and comfortable.
This is one unjust world. Help me understand how it can change. Could it be a movement that makes excessive consumption unpopular? Can it all be put into a human context that would shift the desire to have more and more? Do we really need Paris Hilton, Bennifer, TomKat and the entire industry that has us believing that not only are they desireabl, but that we can be just like them? Madness!
Geoff
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Dien Bien Phu
Yo. I am in DBP on the border with Laos. It was a pretty hard day, with one significant cimb, but not too bad. The next three will be the hail mary's. I left Tuan Giao about 8am after some great coffee and some noodles. I was almost attcked by dogs last night. The town had roving packs of dogs that all noticed me for some reason. I have seen that I stand out a bit here! I realized today that I must look to them like a H'mong tibesperson would look riding through Arkansas on a clapped out Minsk. They have been more friendly to me than some in Arkansas might be. At least I think thay are friendly. Maybe they are constantly making fun of me. Reminds me of a story Dad told me... Ask me about it. I am about to get some food and go to the DBP museum so I'll catch y'all later. Take care, Geoff
I'm not in Oklahoma anymore...
I alredy knew that, but the commonly worn hill-tribe garb really sent it home. The women work in the fields in beautiful velvet skirts and these wildly colored headdresses. Some have tassels, and the latest have been bright flourescents. I guess I look as diffrerent to them as they do to me. It has been hard to find Internet, but that's not really why I'm here. I have had three very demanding days on the bike. Very hot with brutally long climbs. Today I rode about 5 hrs with over two hours of climbing a 10% grade, with some pitches steeper. Oh yeah, it was rocky and covered in loose powdered dirt.
Yesterday I rode from Moc Chau to Son La. As I was leaving Moc Chau a young man rode up next to me on his Chinese scooter. He began speaking to me in decent English and he invited me to his house. I accepted and we pulled into his drive right off the main road. His wife came down with his very cute two-year old son. He offered me a drink from his tiny refrigerator as we sat and talked. He is a teacher named Nam, and earns $90 a month. He says it is very hard living in such a poor country. I started thinking about the privilige of birth... Knowing that I had a very long day ahead I excused myself and then he aked me if I would like to see the rest of his house. We had been sitting at a tiny table in the front, which was like an american garage with the door up. A one car garage. With a concrete floor. We ascended the rough hewn ladder leading to the second floor. It was one large room with a rough cut slat floor. They had two beds separated by a curtain, and a little sitting area. One wall had a double door leading onto a small balcony looking out over the valley of limestone cliffs. A stunning view. As I was leaving, he reached into a bowl on the table and handed me an orange. "It is my hospitality" he said. With much fanfare he and his wife sent me off with many blessings and an invitation to return.
Now I am in Tuan Giao, with not too much to do except sit in a steaming internet cafe with 20 VN kids playing online battle games. The landscape is a river valley with many terraced rice paddys being tended by women in stunning outfits and children on water buffalo.
Last night was spent in Son La, a rather large town that was having the middle of the month (?) celebration, complete with parades of kids carrying flags, a large market selling everything you would ever need from cheap flip-flops to baskets of brightly colored peppers. The hotel was state run, the Trade Union Hotel. The staff was overly friendly and all the girls asked me if I was married. I guess the road worn look is working! Sorry baby, only kidding! One of the girls took me on a tour of the town. We saw the market, a White Thai village and went to the old prison used to house French soldiers and other enemys of the state. She was a great guide, very happy to use her English, and quite friendly, as most of the Vietnamese have been. She earns $50 a month.
I have been suprised to quite enjoy the food here. The standard fare has been some stir fried veggies and rice with some tofu stewed or sauteed with tomato as well. Today I was also served soup with potato and some other potato like things, plus onions. There was easily enough food for two, and it cost a whopping 25,000 VND, which is about $1.75. With a coke too.
The world is looking a bit different to me since I have been here. The poverty is shocking, and the grace with which these people conduct themselves while living very hard lives is touching and inspiring. I have been considering how to make things different with class issues in the world and I haven't quite gotten a handle on it. I keep coming back to the fact that there are not enough resources in the world for everyone to live like the people in the first world coutries. I hate to say it, but I believe that it is true. Organizations all over the world are trying to lift the "poor" out of poverty, but it seems to be a losing battle. I think the focus needs to be on consumption and unequal distribution of wealth and resources. The mega-rich cannot exist in a just world, just as the brutally poor cannot. Maybe ask that America voluntarily imposes a cap on personal earnings at One Million, and the rest goes to a charity of the person's choice. I don't know how much that would free up, but I'll bet well over a billion just from the top 5 CEO's, and I'll bet they could figure out how do OK on only $100,000 a month. I'm probably going to get arrested when I get back. Just don't show this to the authorities!
Anyway, just stuff I'm thinking about, letting it all gel as the sun bakes my head and my legs keep tapping out the KM's. Closing thought: It's good to see the world. I feel very far from home, but I am seeing a culture of compassionate people, working hard for very little, but still taking the time to help me when I need it.
Yesterday I rode from Moc Chau to Son La. As I was leaving Moc Chau a young man rode up next to me on his Chinese scooter. He began speaking to me in decent English and he invited me to his house. I accepted and we pulled into his drive right off the main road. His wife came down with his very cute two-year old son. He offered me a drink from his tiny refrigerator as we sat and talked. He is a teacher named Nam, and earns $90 a month. He says it is very hard living in such a poor country. I started thinking about the privilige of birth... Knowing that I had a very long day ahead I excused myself and then he aked me if I would like to see the rest of his house. We had been sitting at a tiny table in the front, which was like an american garage with the door up. A one car garage. With a concrete floor. We ascended the rough hewn ladder leading to the second floor. It was one large room with a rough cut slat floor. They had two beds separated by a curtain, and a little sitting area. One wall had a double door leading onto a small balcony looking out over the valley of limestone cliffs. A stunning view. As I was leaving, he reached into a bowl on the table and handed me an orange. "It is my hospitality" he said. With much fanfare he and his wife sent me off with many blessings and an invitation to return.
Now I am in Tuan Giao, with not too much to do except sit in a steaming internet cafe with 20 VN kids playing online battle games. The landscape is a river valley with many terraced rice paddys being tended by women in stunning outfits and children on water buffalo.
Last night was spent in Son La, a rather large town that was having the middle of the month (?) celebration, complete with parades of kids carrying flags, a large market selling everything you would ever need from cheap flip-flops to baskets of brightly colored peppers. The hotel was state run, the Trade Union Hotel. The staff was overly friendly and all the girls asked me if I was married. I guess the road worn look is working! Sorry baby, only kidding! One of the girls took me on a tour of the town. We saw the market, a White Thai village and went to the old prison used to house French soldiers and other enemys of the state. She was a great guide, very happy to use her English, and quite friendly, as most of the Vietnamese have been. She earns $50 a month.
I have been suprised to quite enjoy the food here. The standard fare has been some stir fried veggies and rice with some tofu stewed or sauteed with tomato as well. Today I was also served soup with potato and some other potato like things, plus onions. There was easily enough food for two, and it cost a whopping 25,000 VND, which is about $1.75. With a coke too.
The world is looking a bit different to me since I have been here. The poverty is shocking, and the grace with which these people conduct themselves while living very hard lives is touching and inspiring. I have been considering how to make things different with class issues in the world and I haven't quite gotten a handle on it. I keep coming back to the fact that there are not enough resources in the world for everyone to live like the people in the first world coutries. I hate to say it, but I believe that it is true. Organizations all over the world are trying to lift the "poor" out of poverty, but it seems to be a losing battle. I think the focus needs to be on consumption and unequal distribution of wealth and resources. The mega-rich cannot exist in a just world, just as the brutally poor cannot. Maybe ask that America voluntarily imposes a cap on personal earnings at One Million, and the rest goes to a charity of the person's choice. I don't know how much that would free up, but I'll bet well over a billion just from the top 5 CEO's, and I'll bet they could figure out how do OK on only $100,000 a month. I'm probably going to get arrested when I get back. Just don't show this to the authorities!
Anyway, just stuff I'm thinking about, letting it all gel as the sun bakes my head and my legs keep tapping out the KM's. Closing thought: It's good to see the world. I feel very far from home, but I am seeing a culture of compassionate people, working hard for very little, but still taking the time to help me when I need it.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
New Awesome Plan!
So I hired a guide for the rest of the trip. I will have a semi-english fluent guide in a Land Cruiser along for the trip by bike to Sapa. He will be with me for 8 days. I'll still carry my own gear, so I didn't wimp out but I just can't speak and I would have been up shit's creek with a turd for a paddle out there. I am going to put my bike together now as we leave at 7:30 in the morning. I also booked one night at the Victoria in Sapa and one night at some eco lodge up in the mountains before I take the night train back to Hanoi for my last two days. I am much more comfortable with this plan and I think that the guide will help me enjoy the time here rather than just suffer along, which is generally what I seem to determined to do. Maybe it's time to let that go...
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Coffee
Who would have thought it would be so hard. I speak and people just stare at me. The language is incredibly difficult. I found a nice veggie place last night, and had some coffee and bread this morning after watching the locals do calesthenics in the park. I am going to make arrangements to get my bus ticket for tomorrow when I head out of town. Wish me luck. I watched some chickens get their throats cut this morning. I saw some that had been stripped of feathers and I wondered where they came from. I then noticed the cage full of live ones and figured that must be where. It's all out in the open here...
Old Quarter
Wow. That was an adventure. I took a cab from the hotel over to the Old Quarter. I started at the Ngoc Son Temple on Hoan Kiem Lake. There were many tourists taking incredibly staged photos, but the temple was pretty, but I think not much compared to what I will see as I leave the city. Walking through the Old Quarter in the rain was a real treat. The weather added an intimacy to the scene that was not there before the rain began. I walked through a street market with many food stalls, all of which turned my stomach. Too many pieces of meat. I do think I am going to have to just get over it and start eating like the locals. I found a nice little cafe and had some sauteed bok choy and mushrooms. It was pretty damn good. The coffee is the strongest that I have ever had, and maybe that's what makes the drivers so crazy. The traffic is a giant lesson in the forces of nature. One stream of energy flows until an incoming/opposing stream becomes stronger, at which point the energy shifts. People just keep inching out into a non-stop stream of traffic until they have managed to get out far enough that no one can squeeze by and then they go, along with about 50 mopeds, starting the new dominant flow until someone else squeezes them off. I just can't believe they don't all die in the traffic. No one wears a helmet. Maybe one of those little VC pth helmet things, but no real helmets at all. This is a city of juxtopositions. A man cooks meat in a homebuilt fire in front of a brightly lit store selling cell phones and PDA's. I have not begun to get a grip on it yet. My Vietnamese is so bad, the pronunciation is so difficult, that they just stare at me as I try to speak the language. Take care. Geoff
Monday, February 26, 2007
Made it...
After a very long flight next to a crying baby, I made it to Hanoi. It is another world. The traffic is beyond belief with overloaded mopeds, bicycles and pedestrians everywhere, going every which way with no regard for lights or order. It's no wonder the fatalities are so numerous. The city is beautiful and feels very old. I am at the hotel and need to get cleaned up. I'll see you later.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Getting Ready to Go...
Howdy All,
Just a note to say that I will be keeping a record of my travels so that you will know what's going on. If you don't know at all, I am going on a solo bicycle trip from Hanoi to Lao Cai in Northwest Vietnam from Feb 27 to March 12. Michelle bought me the ticket for my engagement gift because she is the best! I am frantically trying to learn a bit of Vietnamese so I can at least figure out where to go to the bathroom, if not actually get a bite to eat from time to time. My bike and supplies are ready and so are my legs. The travel clinic gave me the all-clear on my immunizations and I will be picking up my anti-malaria pills and some antibiotics next week. I am so excited!
Take care,
Geoff
Just a note to say that I will be keeping a record of my travels so that you will know what's going on. If you don't know at all, I am going on a solo bicycle trip from Hanoi to Lao Cai in Northwest Vietnam from Feb 27 to March 12. Michelle bought me the ticket for my engagement gift because she is the best! I am frantically trying to learn a bit of Vietnamese so I can at least figure out where to go to the bathroom, if not actually get a bite to eat from time to time. My bike and supplies are ready and so are my legs. The travel clinic gave me the all-clear on my immunizations and I will be picking up my anti-malaria pills and some antibiotics next week. I am so excited!
Take care,
Geoff
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