Chad and Sharon Moore

We're back in Bangkok after 5 days in Pai (pronounced 'Bye'), a chill out town in a gorgeous green valley amongst the hills of northwest Thailand.  The town attracts artist and musicians from Thailand and beyond creating a somewhat laidback hippy vibe.  We hired out a moped for a few days exploring the surrounding area, splashing in deserted waterfalls, wandering streets of local tribal villages and admiring the temples that overlook the valleys. Something you notice whilst in rural Thailand is the Thai sanuk culture. Sanuk means fun in English and it is part of the Thai way of life to make fun in whatever you are doing.  Even when watching hard labour in the fields you get the sense of playfullness amongst the workers.  It's nice to see and something we should have more of in western culture.

We initially stayed in a cheap guesthouse (Abodaya 260bht/night) but the mattress was sooo lumpy that we had to move.  We paid out a bit more money and stayed in a great riverside bungalow.  It had amazing views, not only from our huge private balcony, but from our super king size bed too.  Sharon was very happy :-)

Whilst in Pai we managed to check out a few local and touring musos in the small bars dotted around the town.  It was great to be so close to the bands and being able to appreciate their talent and passion.  On one occasion, we were treated to a musical experience when a group of maybe 8 locals performed a few songs with fire dancing, bongos, didjeridoos, bells, etc.  Their performance attracted a rather large crowd of hippies and I was very glad that Sharon wasn't wearing a t-shirt we saw earlier on in the evening, the slogan was 'hippies smell' !

Pai has some lovely little shops and stalls selling the local tribes' handicrafts and some dazzling coloured clothes, bags and hats.  We wouldn't be brave enough to wear them in Thailand let alone back in Australia!

So, after enjoying a few days relaxing by the river in a beautiful valley, we headed back to Bangkok on the overnight bus.  For our last week in Thailand (I can't believe I'm typing that!) we are off to Hua Hin, a few hours south.  It's supposed to be the Thai royal family's choice of beachside retreat and is popular with Thai holiday makers.  Let's hope the weather is nice!

PS Happy birthday Alison M x

Whilst in Chiang Mai we have been pretty busy, the end of our travels is fast approaching and it won't be long till we'll be back in Manly.  Some people might be sad to come to the end of such a fantastic trip but we are both looking forward to catching up with friends, etc, so I'm sure it won't be that bad.  How bad can living on the Northern Beaches be? :-) 

Anyway, what's keeping us busy?  Sharon and I attended yet another cooking class, at this rate I may well learn something!  There were 4 of us in the class and it started off with a market tour in Chiang Mai followed by a 15 minute truck ride out to a lovely open air cooking classroom.  We cooked some fantastic dishes, shared our food and had a great time.  The cooking class has only been running for a month or so and Nancy, our teacher, was excellent, very professional and definately recommended.  Check out their website www.siamricethaicookery.com to see photos of us on the 21st August class. (just checked and they are not up yet).

We've enjoyed an evening of Muay Thai boxing at the local stadium sitting in the front row seats feeling the tension of the trainers in the corners as their fighters combat.  We watched bouts of various weights, of which only one was heavier than Sharon!  These guys are small but being so close to the action soon made us realise that they can pack a punch, kick, knee and elbow for that matter!  All the fights were accompanied by enchanting music and with the ceremonial starts to each match, it was more than just a bit of violence.  Whilst visiting the bathroom, I noticed one of the defeated fighters cleaning blood off his face, even though he looked worse for wear he still turned and greeted me in the traditional Thai way of wai and smiled.  Even battered and bruised Thai people are still friendly and welcoming!

We also had another memorable evening of food and live music at a riverside bar/restaurant called Good View.  They have a band of about 12 musicians who chop and change during the night to give you the widest range of cover songs I have ever heard.  They were full of energy, very talented and looked like they were having fun, perfect ingredients for a great band and they gave us a great night :-)

 You can't come to the north of Thailand without riding an elephant through the lush rain forest.  Maybe we didn't choose the best day to go because after two days of hard rain the ground was treacherous turning our ride into more of a hang on for dear life!  As a mode of jungle transport, our elephant proved to be amazing. Okay, he slipped once causing Sharon to shreek but our guide, on his own elephant ahead of us, led us through some extreme terrain.  Sharon's comments of "We can't go up there!" and "We're not going to get down this way!" fell on deaf ears as we moved through the jungle.  It was fun even though we had to hang on very tightly at times.  Steep slippery inclines and declines definately increase your adrenaline!

We've visited a couple of hill tribe villages, the Hmong tribe and the Karen tribe.  It was really interesting to learn a bit about their beliefs and lifestyle and see how they live and survive in their habitat.

Sharon is also very proud of our bamboo rafting experience.  Due to a large amount of rain a couple of days before, it felt like we were white water rafting on a few pieces of sticks at times ! Even though water crashed around us totally soaking us and with her fear of water, Sharon still though the elephant ride was more terrifying :-)

Tomorrow we head north west from here to Pai, towards the Myanmar (Burma) border.

We started off early catching a shared taxi to the airport.  We actually shared the taxi with the same English guy we caught a taxi with when arriving in Hanoi a week earlier... spooky !  So, after wishing him safe travels again, we settled into the airport lounge only to bump into a couple we had had dinner with when we went out with the Croydon boys.  We were all going to Bangkok so after a pleasant and cheap flight on Air Asia we shared a cab to the Banglamphu area of Bangkok.  Spent the rest of the day sorting our bags out again with our stored luggage and booking the overnight bus to Chiang Mai, and then met up with Ollie and Sophie again for a few beers.  They are off to Oz after Bali so we may see them again in Sydney which would be great :-)  The overnight bus to Chiang Mai was okay I suppose, we've had worse, but the air con was leaking on the left-hand side of the bus so a few unlucky people had to put up their umbrellas or wear their raincoats for 12 hours.  I'm glad we sat on the right-hand side :-)

Chiang Mai is approximately 700 km north west of Bangkok and is the northern capital of Thailand. There are over 300 temples here and the old city is bounded by a moat and partial walls.  We are staying in the old city in a great little corner room overlooking a temple and monks' living area.  It's weird to see all the orange robes hanging out to dry on wash day :-)

We have been lucky enough to experience the Sunday night market in the old city.  I must say it is amazing, even if shopping is not your thing it's great to see so many locally produced handicrafts.  It's a bit like Paddington market in Sydney or Camden market in London only ten times better!  The market is very popular with the locals so it doesn't feel like a tourist trap.  There are cheap food stalls selling some divine dishes and with local musicians playing various instruments every 50 metres or so, it all adds to a wonderful atmosphere.

We are here for a few days so I'm sure there will be more to share soon. I'll spend the rest of my internet time uploading some photos, I'm a bit behind!

Hope everyone is keeping well, we are gutted we missed Paul's 40th in Manly, the porn party photos look awesome!!! Maybe it should be an annual event ;-)

From Hanoi we took a minibus along with 10 others to Halong City where we boarded a Pagoda style boat which would be our home for the next couple of days.  We cruised into the surreal seascape of Halong Bay, with all the limestone pinnacles protruding from the sea, it makes a spectacular sight.

Halong translates as 'where the dragon descends into the sea' and the legend says the islands were created by a great dragon's flailing tail which gouged out valleys as it plunged into the sea.  These valleys have since filled with water leaving more than 3000 limestone islands and a lovely magical landscape.

A couple from New Zealand recognised us from a previous hotel we had stayed in and we got chatting, soon the whole group started socializing and we made some more friends.  These kind of group tours are much more enjoyable if you meet nice people, thankfully we did!

We cruised around the bay weaving between the islands sitting on the top of our boat taking in the panoramic view.  It really does look impressive.  We stopped a couple of times to visit some of the caves and chambers that are on some of the islands and we anchored for a while so we could spend some time kayaking.  I think Sharon preferred the bigger boat though :-)

We ate all our meals on the boat, sharing tables with fellow travellers and sharing experiences too.  In the evening we enjoyed a beer or two together on the roof before the rain came and we retired to our own little ensuite cabin.  It was a memorable trip and something we would definately recommend. 

After the tranquility of crusing around Halong Bay, it was back to the hectic Hanoi. 

We've changed our plans slightly and have decided to fly back to Bangkok and then go up to Chaing Mai in Thailand.    Our craving of Thai food has gotten the best of us.  We got a really good deal on the flight, now we just need to hope our bags are under 15kg each! :-)

So next stop Thailand.... again!

After our worst overnight bus trip yet, we arrived in the capital city of Vietnam, Hanoi.  The bus ride started well, lots of empty seats so we could stretch out and sleep, but 30 minutes later we had circled Hue 3 times and picked up what felt like any Vietnamese who fancied a ride to the capital!  We eventually left with all the seats full plus people sitting on little plastic stools in the aisle.  Now throw in a couple of people being sick and you can see why the 12 hour journey wasn't a highlight of our Vietnam experience.  Still, at least it's very cheap :-)

We stayed in the Venus Hotel (not recommended) where we hooked up with a couple of English blokes, John and Dihlan, from Croydon (both big Crystal Palace fans you'd be glad to hear, Nicola).  We had met them in Hoi An and it was great to catch up with them again and share our experiences, they are very amusing and have some hilarious stories to tell.

We were staying in the Old Quarter, a lively and unusual place where the streets have been bustling with commerce for more than a thousand years.  Each street seems to specialise in some sort of merchandise, herbal medicine, silks, leather, steel, etc,  It's a great place to stay and provides a good dose of Vietnamese culture even if it is a bit hectic at times.

Whilst in Hanoi we saw a wonderful water puppetry performance at the Municipal Theatre.  The puppets were both amusing and graceful and the music from a live Vietnamese band was enchanting.

We also visited the Ho Chi Minh Complex and learnt about the man himself, he is honoured in Vietnam for his role as the liberator of the people from french colonialism as well as his communist ideology.  Travelling is definately improving our education! :-)

We liked Hanoi, although city life in South East Asia is crazy, it is easy to soak up the experience over a lovely Vietnamese coffee at a side street cafe and feel glad that we have the option of just watching.

Next stop the natural wonder of Halong Bay, something we have been looking forward to.

Hue pronounced "whey", is only 4 hours travel from Hoi An.  We arrived early evening and checked into a cheap hotel called Bao Minh ($10) which is off Le Loi Street and nice and quiet :-)

We had a bit of a look around and stopped for a tasty bite to eat washed down with a few bottles of local beer, Hue and Festival, at a restaurant called Little Italy.  Afterwards, we were lucky enough to nab a corner spot outside the Why Not bar and had a few more beers... hic :-) whilst chilling and watching the world go by :-)  I can't believe I'm still drinking beer!  I did try a bottle of Dalat wine the other night but I felt so bad the next day that I'm steering clear of wine from now on.  I'm sure I'll change my mind once we get back to Manly though :-)

The next day we visited the Citadel which has a 10km perimeter and kept us busy for quite a few hours.  There are many different buildings and ecnlosures within the Citadel walls, each with an interesting history/story to learn. 

Whilst wandering around we bumped into some Aussie friends from Hoi An.  This seems to happen a lot over here as everyone follows a similar route through the countries.  We recently met a girl in Nha Trang, Vietnam, who we had previously met in Ko Chang, Thailand, 3 weeks earlier and 1000 miles apart!

It was sooo humid whilst we were in Hue.  There was absolutely no breeze for most of the day and everyone had that glazed with sweat look.  On one of the many rest breaks we took in the Citadel, Chad left the camera behind. I noticed it was missing about 10 - 15 minutes later so we frantically ran back to the spot.  Luckily we found the camera but running in this weather is definately not recommended, it doesn't leave you with a good look :-) 

We recovered at Tinh Tam Lake (I got excited about this as thought there may be Tim Tams) on the little island where the emporers used to come to relax.  It's a bit off the tourist trail so we were the only foreigners there.  It was nice to chill watching the locals fishing and a few children trying to fly a kite which involved running up and down as there was no wind.  Where do they get the energy from in this heat!

We caught a cyclo (a bike with seat on the front) around the city and back to our hotel.  It's a fun way to travel even if it is accompanied with my squeals as cars and motorbikes nearly hit us :-)

Our short stay in Hue was nice and we treated ourselves to some lovely meals, the benefit of staying in a cheaper hotel :-)

Next is another overnight bus trip to the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi

Hoi An isn't just for clothes, we've found it a perfect spot to take some time out to soak up an enchanting part of Vietnam.  We've taken relaxing strolls around the old town which is a world heritage site so it retains a sense of history and charm.  Sipping Ca Phe Phin (Vietnamese coffee) and nibbling on the delicious french inspired desserts isn't a difficult way to while away the day.

We hired Vietnamese bikes and cycled 4km to Cua Dai Beach, a gorgeous 30km stretch of golden sand and clear blue water that was deserted.  Sharon was a bit unsure on the bike at first but she got better.  The guy who rented out his bikes gave a concerned look when she slowly wobbled away! :-)

We took part in a great cooking course (Red Bridge Cooking Class), the cooking part wasn't really that intense but we had a brilliant day.  It started off with a guided trip to the local market where we watched farmers and fishermen selling their fresh produce, then we took a cruise down the river to a beautifully set restaurant on the waterfront.  We learnt how to make 3 or 4 local dishes as well as some decorative touches to make it all look pretty.  The teacher was an absolutely hilarious chef, he had a very dry sense of humour and an accent like a Vietnamese Borat. He had us in stitches so many times.  I must say, my cooking expertise far surpassed Sharon's on the day, she had a shocker.  For example, she flipped her rice pancake straight from the pan onto the gas stove where it instantly burst into flames... whoops :-)  though her tomato skin rose looked a lot more like a flower than my effort :-)

After the lessons the whole class had lunch together enjoying the dishes we had learnt to cook but which were prepared by the restaurant staff (thank god, I didn't fancy eating Sharon's efforts).  We then took a cruise back to Hoi An Town where a few of us finished up with mouth watering desserts from a great patisserie (The Cargo Club).

As was mentiond in our previous journal, we are staying at the Green Field Hotel. This place has turned out to be a great place to mix with fellow travellers and we have made some wonderful friends, the free happy hour cocktails brings like minded people together ... hic :-) 

Next stop Hue.....

From Nha Trang it was our first overnight bus journey in Vietnam to our next destination, Hoi An, as we continued our journey North. So, after 10 hours with the ever honking horns we arrived, suprisingly we managed to get a few hours sleep so we must be learning to sleep through anything.

Hoi An proved to be well worth it! Our $20 a night accomodation at Greenfields Hotel was great, luckily I emailed them the evening before as it was fully booked when we arrived. It has a swimming pool, cable tv (which meant I got to watch Manly beat Parra and the Brisbane!) fridge, a/c, free buffet breakfast (waaaaay too much food) and best of all free happy hour alcoholic fruit cocktails every evening around the pool!!! happy days! ;-)

Hoi An is billed as a ’shoppers paradise’ as it is one of the cheapest places on the planet to buy tailor made clothes!  Having known all this before we arrived, I must admit Sharon was looking forward to our time in Hoi An more than me but we actually both really enjoyed our time shopping in Hoi An! I discovered that buying clothes is actually fun if they are being tailor made, I got used to ladies fussing over me. The tailors of Hoi An are extremely talented, you can choose any design of clothes or shoes, select your material, and within 2/3 days you have a perfect fitting, carbon copy for significantly less than you would pay at home! 

We ended up getting a little carried away and probably bought a bit too much but it is pretty hard not too. Speaking to other travellers we seem to have held back pretty well as many people have ended up with complete new wardrobes (they can send stuff back home for you).

The city itself is relatively quiet by Vietnamese standards (i.e. only 2,000 motorbikes per sqaure inch), with gorgeous old buildings and cobbled streets. The town has a unique feel, with every other building either a clothes / shoe shop, the workers producing the material or the cutters and tailors making the alterations. Suits and jackets replace the usual pigs and chickens as the main cargo on the back of the motorbikes that fly around the tight streets all day and night!

Without doubt, Hoi An has been our favourite place in Vietnam so far. The town centre has some great old buildings, a lovely river setting and there is a great feel to the place, oh, and the clothes aren’t bad either!