A little over a year ago my good friends Kyle and Bethany headed to Thailand for vacation, I have always wanted to go there, and after hearing about their experience was even more eager to find an excuse to make the journey. I want to thank these two for that excuse, and for this amazing gift of sharing their adventure as they once again traveled to Thailand, this time to get married, and in a style that is truly what Kyle and Bethany are all about. No fancy “show” in some church, instead they showed their family and friends something
far more important, the experience of being Kyle and Bethany, and the love that they have for each other. I was honored to have been a part of it. I love you guys. [Jump to first trip]
To continue with my original story… Shortly after Kyle and Bethany returned from their first trip, Kyle quit his job to return within months, once again, to Southeast Asia. At the time I could not understand this, it was not until I made the journey myself that the reason became clear. I was now on a new path, heading in to the unknown, searching for something that I have not yet defined. The time had come in my life for me too, to quit my job, toss some clothes in my pack, and again make the run to Sec-Tac international airport. It was time for me to free myself and see the world. [Jump to second trip]
Here I am again, trying to sort out my experiences, what I saw, who I meant, and what I learned. For the first time in my life I was completely alone in a foreign country, armed only with English in a place where English is not spoken. I knew whatever happened I would have to deal with it myself, wondering if others would be able to understand this. They did, and it turned out that I was not alone, there were people I never meant before but knew I could depend on them and was glad to return the offer. People in general are good people, willing to help each other out, share each other’s experiences and pass on knowledge. They understand we are really the same on this planet, no better, no worse, and that it is not for us to judge. I think this is one of the reasons I was so quick to return to this land. It’s unfortunate that the general US population does not yet understand this concept and I fear they never will.
… to everyone I met along the way, thanks for your advice, your company, and sharing your experience with me, I’ll remember you always…
With everyplace I visit, every person I talked with, my reality, my universe grows larger and larger, I experience more, I understand more, and I share more. Southeast Asia again changed my life, and I feel that sometime in the future I’ll again return. So I guess I should close with:
To be continued…
"Free yourself and see the world" - phynntravels@comcast.net
I work up feeling refreshed, grabbed some breakfast and amazingly fresh fruit, and checked out. I walked down the beach looking for a longtail to take me from Railay Beach to Krabi Town. After some negotiation I found one at the right price. From Krabi Town I found a cab to take me to the airport, now all I needed was a flight.
I was about to say that in all my travels in Thailand and Vietnam I never had a problem flying, however that changed today. I was going to try and catch a flight back to Bangkok, however the next few Thai Air flights in to Suvarnabhumi had been canceled due to mechanical issues I guess. There was one flight in to Don Mueang, the old Bangkok airport that had room on it. I had no idea where this was in relation to downtown Bangkok, but I figured it was headed the general direction I wanted to go, so I jumped on it.
Once at the airport I looked for a cab to take me to a hotel for the night as I was catching my flight out of Suvarnabhumi back home the following afternoon, and on EVA Air rather than China Air. My goal was to find a place in between the airports that I could crash at and have enough time to catch a Tuk Tuk ride for some exploring downtown. I told this to the cab driver but made the mistake of leaving out the criteria that I wanted someplace that was also clean. He took me to Nasa Vegas hotel, which was a perfect location for the criteria I gave him. But this place was a dump, only one of the three lights in my room worked, I questioned if the sheets and towels had been cleaned or just dried, it smelled, and I heard a number of new sounds that night that I did not want to know what they were. This was one of the scariest nights of my life. I put my passport and confirmation email for my flight out under my pillow thinking that they could steal everything else and I could still get home.
I woke up to find everything still in my room, a little wet, but still there. Which was interesting as I was on the third floor, no idea where the water came from other then the moisture in the air. I checked out and grabbed a Tuk Tuk downtown to hang out in Bangkok before heading to the airport for my 4pm flight out.
Bangkok was the same as it was six months ago so I headed to the airport and got on the plane. I was happy to see that the airport tax was no longer being collected. With extra Bhat in my pocket I decided to check out the duty free shops, and I picked up some of the standard trinkets.
I scanned the movie selection, reclined my chair the 2.5 degrees they allow after takeoff, ate a decent meal provided by the airline, and drifted off to sleep to a few movies.
And with the blink of my eye my journey was over. I found myself back on US soil without reason, it felt like it ended before it even began.
For the last few weeks I have been trying to do and see as much as I could, today I decided to do something I have not yet done on this trip, lie on the beach under the warm sun and relax. I grabbed a Thai pancake, keeping in mind they are not just for breakfast anymore, got a morning massage from my new favorite place, and headed out. I was amazed to see how much damage was still around from the Tsunami.
I then dunked myself in sunscreen. They really own you here, most things in Thailand are amazingly cheap, sunscreen however is about twenty percent more than it is in the US, and with airline security, you can’t leave the US with more than three ounces of it. I worked on my tan, grabbed some lunch, worked on my tan, and then grabbed a beer.
I ran in to an American woman who teaches in Tokyo during the school year and then travels Asia during break. She makes twice as much as a teaching in Tokyo then anyplace she could find in the US. Not a bad way to live your life. But then I guess I don’t really have too many regrets either. I enjoyed her company and then headed back to the hotel to see what was going on in the world. I watched actual news on CNN out of Tokyo, free of the US propaganda, and dunked myself in Aloe vera (also about twenty percent more than in the US) before calling it a night.
One of the things I really wanted to see last time I was in Thailand was the Gypsy village, however I never really got close enough with enough time to make it worthwhile. This time I made sure I had enough time and located a full day tour to Phang Nga. I negotiated a longtail sailor that morning to bring me to the “mainland” part of Krabi and hooked up with the tour bus. It was about an hour and half ride north east where we would get in a longtail that took us on the actual tour. We started out going past and then through the mango forest.
And then we came across some pre-historic paintings on the rocks. While you can make out that there are fish, birds, and humans, no one is really sure what they mean.
Our next stop was James Bond island (originally called Koh Phing Kan). However it was renamed after they shot one of the Bond films here. I’m not a fan of the films so I don’t know for sure, but I overheard someone saying that it was “The Man with a Golden Gun”.
The island did have some amazing features. It’s hard to tell in this picture but this rock stands hundreds of feet tall.
The island had a few, rather unique caves, that almost looked man made. Unfortunately most of the beach was occupied with numerous merchants selling all kinds of cheap trinkets and shells.
After our short stay we then pressed on to the Gypsy fishing village (or sometimes called the Muslim fishing village). There are a little over 2000 people living on this village which is supported above the water with countless pillions. This truly is a self sufficient village complete with a school, stores, and a mosque.
They prohibit any photography in the village so my still shots are from the boat. However I did sneak my video camera in to the village and let it run as I walked around, which was great because I caught some audio from one of the five times they broadcast prayers during the day. And also managed to get a few decent shots with it.
We first grabbed lunch in the village before exploring. The food was OK, in that it was different and fun to try something new, however I don’t think I would make the trip just for the dining experience. After lunch I headed out hoping to get out of the main district of shops and restaurants and get back to where most people lived. These people are Gypsies in every sense of the word. They come after you forcing all kinds of crap on you to buy and then get very mad at you when you don’t buy anything.
I was walking around when all of a sudden some crazy gypsy lady threw a monkey on me. Boy if you think you have seen me jump when a little spider falls on me you should see me go berserk when someone tosses a monkey at me. I had no idea what was going on at first and once this thing was on me I was afraid to move not knowing if this thing was going to bite me and eat my face off, or if it was the start of the movie “Outbreak 2”. She was screaming something at me in Thai and then took my picture. So I guess that camera rule only applies to outside visitors. It all made sense when she then showed me a 100 Bhat bill and motioned for me to give her one. I tried to offer her a twenty but she was having none of that, I then tried to walk away and she got mad because she already took the picture. Kind of like she provided a service and now wants money, and she does not care if I asked for the service or not. Not wanting any trouble I gave her 100 Bhat and worked my way back through the maze to the dock.
Once I was back aboard the longtail, 100 Bhats lighter, we headed towards Suwankuha Wat. This was an amazing temple inside of a cave, complete with bats and a huge sleeping Buddha. And it’s still in use, while I was there a few people came in and were blessed by the “enlightened one”. It was amazing to see and experience this decade old ritual.
This guy sat at the top of the cave and as you are climbing up you find yourself questioning if this is a real person or just a stone carving. Once I got close I told him one of my jokes and got no response, so I guess I’m not sure if he was real or not.
A few more guys in the temple who you knew were not real people.
Outside of the temple is crawling with hundreds of monkeys. It was nice that you could get as close as you want without worrying about some crazy gypsy lady tossing them at you. However I still kept my distance not knowing what they would do if I tried to pet one or even got too close.
I think I may have captured the next funny video to circulate the internet with this guy. I won’t spoil the surprise. You can watch it for yourself.
We were going to make one last stop before returning to Krabi town, and this was at the Manora Forest. This place was magical, unbelievable trees, rivers, and scenery. This is another place I would not have guessed actually existed outside of the movies. You could feel the energy in the air.
After some hiking we boarded the bus and took the one and a half hour ride back. And were we lucky, this was a beautiful day until we got on the bus and 20 minutes later it poured down rain. But with a bit more luck and it was clear again once I was back on Railay Beach. Although the longtail from Krabi to Railay was a little wet. I was pretty spent after this day and going so fast and long the last few weeks that I thought tomorrow I would do something I had not yet done on this entire trip, spend a few hours and lie on the beach catching some rays.
The following morning it was high tide, either that or last night’s rain dumped a lot more than I thought.
I headed out in the general direction the bartender pointed last night in search of this lagoon. After about 30 minutes of searching without success I asked one of the guards walking down the beach. He showed me where it began, and I never would have found this, in fact I walked passed it a number of times and never saw it. To be fair, this place is not marked and there is not even a path, it’s just a few ropes with knots in them hanging down from the rocks above, which are the same color as the numerous vines that hung down as well. I strongly recommend that you do not do this alone or after any rain as it is extremely dangerous and slippery when wet. But no one was around at this hour and it was going to take forever to dry out, so I started climbing. I had my hiking boots on as I did not need the extra challenge of sandals. Just to the left of this path is the start of the way to the lagoon.
A place to say a quick prayer before tempting fate.
I started climbing wondering if these old worn ropes would hold my weight as I lunged from knot to knot, and hoping that the things they were tied to would not break free. After sometime I finally got to the top, however I was covered, and I mean covered in mud from hugging the rock face, sneaking under branches and crawling along the ground. My nerves had me shaking a little but the view was amazing.
There were a few trails on top and it took me a few tries to find the one heading down. I have to say the “path” heading down to the lagoon was twice as scary and dangerous as the first path heading up to viewpoint, including the second to last cliff which was an exercise in free climbing as the ropes had broken away. Before I got to this cliff I heard something fall from above, it sounded big and took a long time to fall. I started to freak out, but I did not hear any scream so I guess it was not a person or animal. I got up from my tucked position and did not see anything around me so I guess it came from somewhere else. This place was very surreal, amazing trees, almost cave like with the giant rocks towering thousands of feet above me and only a few shards of light able to break through, just enough for me to see my way. I had no idea such a place could actually exist outside of the movies. In fact I would not be surprised at all if I came across Gandalf and Frodo. A few more meters and I came to the lagoon.
After having seen this amazing place I very carefully made my way back, continuing to take on additional weight in mud, taking deep breathes trying to settle my nerves and remain calm. Once I was back I came across the same guard who looked at me and laughed at how dirty I was. But I did not care I was safe again. It had only been a little over an hour and the tide had gone out.
I went back to my room and cleaned up before heading out for a massage. I found a small place that offered one hour for 250 Bhats, best deal I have found yet, plus they spent a lot of time on my back, so this was one of the best massages I had in Thailand without a happy finish. The rock formations in Krabi are simply amazing and many consider it the Mecca for rock climbing, just as the Great Barrier Reef is for scuba diving. I was originally going to skip climbing but there are so many places to explore, both on the rock face and inside some of these mountains that I could not help but be inspired to do some climbing. So I signed up with one of the climbing shops. This adventure would be much safer then the lagoon, complete with decent equipment and professional supervision.
Many of the caves have shrines with what at first appeared to be matchsticks, however on closer examination, they are actually large wooden penises (insert your own joke here). I heard a number of variations on this but they generally say the cave is the women’s womb and couples who want to get pregnant have been leaving “offerings” since the beginning of time.
Railay Beach was pretty empty with few people around, it was actually quite nice after running around the last few weeks.
I picked up a Thai pancake, however this guy made a pretty bad one, so I had to go wash it down with a beer. I found a great open air bar on the west side, right on the beach, and just in time as the skies opened up again and it poured down. Once it cleared I went to see if it would be high tide again, but it was not. I jumped in a longtail to go explore Chicken and Poda islands, just off of Railay, however there was not much to explore, just your typical beach. Looking back on Railay.
It was a pretty full day and I was tired and ready for bed and some much needed rest.
I woke up to the amazing view of Phi Phi Leh from my bedroom around 06:00, slammed the second of the two free bottles of water they provide daily in my room, and then headed out for Long Beach. It’s not a long walk but there is a reason most people travel by boat, which I was reminded by when I first had to walk out in to the water over coarse rocks. Teva sandals are good until they get wet, then they suck and I was forced to ditch them as I continued my journey. Tevas are really not at all practical in Thailand as you have to take off your shoes everyplace you go, you might as well be wearing regular shoes as you have to bend over to put them on and off, flip-flops are clearly the footwear of choice. Along the way I encountered a few small crabs running across the beach, a few lobster traps filled with the daily catch, and the most amazing sunrise I have ever seen. I sat down in the current rock garden I was attempting to four wheel drive over and took some time for myself. The warm fresh air blowing over me, the sound of only the small waves crashing to shore, the sight of longtail sailors sleeping in their hammocks strung from the ends of their longtail boats, the old barge which they called a “dock” that was now totally beached, and me. I was the only one up and about at this hour. After heading out to shark bay I turned around and went to check out of Bay View.
The ferry did not leave until 15:00 so I decided to head up to view point again to get a few more pictures, or at least more exercise, this time with sandals on.
I got back down and settled in for a nice beer at Carpe Diem, and oh yes, Buddha Bar Nature was playing, followed by Deep Forrest, and waited for the ferry to arrive. But yeah, this is where I want to be, this is where I belong.
One last mango and then coconut shake and I boarded the ship heading in the general direction for Krabi. However leaving this time was very different then last time. I knew I would be back, this would not just be some distant memory that would fade over time, these two islands had become a part of who I am, not who I was.
About an hour and twenty minutes later we tied up with four longtails just within view of Railay beach. A number of us crawled in to the longtails as others tossed our packs aboard, glad I had nothing that needed to be waterproof in mine. The smell of exhaust filled the air as we broke free and headed towards Railay Beach. Another 20 to 30 minutes and we beached on the western side. While Railay beach is actually connected to Krabi the limestone mountains make it impossible to reach by any other means then by boat.
Once we arrived we were all pretty much on our own, wandering the beach in search of accommodation. One guy found a map but it was in Thai so we pretty much had no idea what was going on. I headed to the east and found the Sunrise Tropical Resort, score, this place was awesome and at an awesome price.
After I checked in I headed out to explore a little. On the far end I found a path that cut through the rocks and emptied in to this secluded beach, complete with guards. But when you have sunsets like these you need to keep out the undesirables.
I then found a watering hole called the “Drop in Bar”, sat on one of the only six bar stools the place had, ordered a beer, and chatted with the bartender. His English was quite poor but he told me about a secret lagoon in which you had to first hike to the top of one of these limestone mountains and then hike back down inside of it to get to. I had no plans for tomorrow so this sounded like a good place to start, and then headed to bed.
I got up this morning and headed out to walk along the beach before heading to the docks. It was a beautiful morning. The fresh warm air and the sounds of the waves crashing in, I have never been here before but felt welcome, felt safe, and had a small grin on my face as I walked down the beach, this is after all, the land of smiles.
I then checked out and headed to the docks. Like most docks in Thailand they are not really docks, just old barges that have boat after boat tied up to them side by side. Krabi only had three boats leaving unlike the 10 to 12 that left from Phuket, so locating the correct ferry was actually quite easy. And these were steel hull boats, unlike the old wooden ones leaving from Phuket. I jumped aboard and we were off. They said something in Thai and then we stopped about 20 minutes later. This was an unexpected stop for me but turned out to be a planned stop for the boat, just off shore from Railay Beach. This was perfect as I was planning on hitting Railay Beach after Phi Phi and now I knew I could catch the return ferry and get right there. After swapping some passengers we headed to Phi Phi, possibility my favorite place on earth so far. It seemed like a shorter trip from Krabi then from Phuket but if memory serves it was about one and a half hours from both ports. At this point I was just shooting with my video camera as I had already taken plenty of shots with my still camera from my previous trip here (see my first blog on Thailand for those).
I had stayed at two places on Phi Phi Don in the past, one which was great but a little out of the way, and another that was not so great but right on the beach. This time I was heading to Bayview, and as it turns out, right on the beach and very nice, all for the same price as the others. In fact next time I’m back here I’ll be heading right for Bayview. View of Phi Phi Leh from my room.
It was great to be back on Phi Phi Don, knowing exactly which stands had the best Thai pancakes, which corners had the best massage girls, and of course which bars played the best music. If fact one of my goals was to find out what CDs Carpe Diem was playing, a hang out from last time, and a bar that finished a close second after Banana Rock. I almost felt like a local, well, would have if I did not stand out like the typical western white guy. After I grabbed a Thai pancake and checked in I went in search of someone with a longtail boat as I wanted to get to Phi Phi Leh as soon as possible. It only took a few steps down the beach before I found someone who agreed with me on price.
I was off and it felt amazing, riding in some old wooden longtail powered by an old V8 car engine again, man I love this place. We made a brief stop at Viking cave and circled some of the inlets. The water was high, in fact for all of you who were with me on my first trip here, you may remember swimming to shore then walking over coral to grab on to a rope which helped you pull yourself up through this rock hole which eventually got you on the island of Phi Phi Leh. Not sure if any of you remember but there was a second rope there that went up over the arch that we crawled through. That is because when the water is high and that hole is submerged underwater you have two options, diving down and swimming through that hole or using that second rope to climb over the arch. I’m a weak swimmer so I climbed over, hiked down the path, and emerged at Maya Bay, truly paradise. Although I have to admit I almost did not recognize it with the water level consuming so much of the beach. At this point I realized I made a minor mistake, while I took great care in making sure my camera did not get wet, I forgot to take my wallet out of my pocket before swimming to shore, but other than having to dry out my money later it was no great loss, thank God it was still in my pocket. I took some time to further explore and bond with Phi Phi Leh then headed back to the longtail. On the way back we encountered a few wild dolphins, I tried to catch them on camera but if you watch the video I only briefly caught them, even when slowed down. Knowing that it was almost impossible to film them I jumped in the water hoping to swim with them a little, this time leaving my wallet behind. This was largely a pointless exercise as they did not stick around once I was in, so I returned to the longtail and the captain helped me back in the boat once he stopped laughing at me.
Once I got back to Phi Phi Don I wanted to walk around a little, and I was surprised at how much this place has changed, some structures torn down, others newly built. You kind of forget that this island is also home to a handful of people, except for some subtle reminders, like the Phi Phi longtail school boat and the kids outside at recess playing beach volley ball. Man, a guy could almost enjoy school out in these parts. I guess I should have had on some sandals as my feet later blistered from the hot ground, at least I had on a good coat of sun screen. I figured I could self medicate and relieve some of the pain with a Singha beer from Carpe Diem, and how appropriate that they were playing my favorite track from Buddha Bar: Nature when I arrived, yea sometimes things just work out perfect. I ordered a fried rice red curry, forgetting that Kyle ordered this last time and it was hotter than the scorching sun of Vietnam. However Thai food is hot in a different way than US food, the US just tries to make it hot without regard to flavor. The Thai really go for flavor and then hot, and believe me its hotter than anything you will find in the US, but because it tastes so good I was a member of the clean plate club within minutes. I quickly found the need for further self medication and sucked in a couple more Singha(s) and a Chang to try and cool down. However the damage was done and for the next four days my sinuses were a wreck from this.
I wanted to get some cash for tonight and found that my Visa card worked in less places then before, not sure why, but there was only one cash machine that accepted it when I knew I had successfully gotten cash with this same card only six months ago from any number of other machines. With a few thousand Bhat soaking up the moisture in my wallet I headed out to catch some fire dancing. This was a little disappointing until I realized that last time I was here it was New Years. I shot some video at both Apache Bar and Carpe Diem, both of which I would only give an average rating compared to New Years which was so far above excellent they have not invented a word for it yet. However unlike New Years I found my way home pretty easily, slept pretty well, and woke up with only the slightest headache.
I woke up that morning, picked up my laundry, and checked out. I was heading to Bangkok, Thailand and depending on flight schedules and availability possibly going to try and make it to Krabi today as well. I got a cab to take me to the Hanoi airport. This cab driver was either not Vietnamese or it was his first day on the job as he was a very defensive driver. It took forever for us to get to the airport as he let everyone in, let everyone cut him off, and had quite a time figuring out what all the gears were for.
Once I got to the airport I checked in and then was released from Vietnamese soil. I flew Thai Air in to Bangkok. Not a bad airline but I much prefer Bangkok Air for their service and perks, such as their passenger lounge and free internet, juice, and cookies. I landed in Bangkok and made my way through immigration and customs then went to check on domestic flights. I was lucky in that there was a flight from Bangkok to Krabi, however a little unlucky in that it was not for another four hours. I was going to try and find a quick ride on a Tuk Tuk and pick up a much anticipated Thai pancake, however the airport is pretty far away from everything and with traffic it could easily be an hour to downtown so I settled for a Singha beer and watched a little CNN out of Toyko, Japan. Man it sure is nice to see what is really happening in the world, rather than our sugar coated US news viewed through the eyes of the producers.
I got to Krabi, this was my first time here as I was not able to squeeze it in on my first trip. I decided to try and get out to Phi Phi early tomorrow morning, then work my way back to spend some time in Krabi. Rather then what I did last time when I tried to make the continuous journey from Phi Phi all the way to Seattle. I was pretty sure that both Krabi Town and Ao Nang Beach had boats to the islands, and believed my friends stayed at Ao Nang Beach before, so I told the cab driver to take me there.
My first goal was to find a Thai pancake, which I accomplished fairly quickly. My second goal was to find lodging for the night. As I walked down the street towards the beach I heard the familiar sound of Buddha Bar coming from this place called the Tree Top Bar. A bar that was up in the top of the trees, with great lounge music playing, how could I not stop? I enjoyed a few beers in this open air establishment overlooking the waters, relaxing and thinking how lucky I am to get to see and experience all this.
Sometimes things just work out perfect. I left the bar and right next store was Phar Nang Inn, a cool looking, almost organic hotel that was molded in to the jungle as much as it was in to the ocean, and the price was right. I checked in and went to my room. This place was awesome, even the rooms make you feel like you are living right in nature’s arms, from the chairs and bed sculpted from tree branches to the shell sink and shower in the bathroom. The staff was also great and helped me locate a boat that would take me to Phi Phi the following morning. Now that everything was set in place I headed out to walk around the town and beach. This place was a little touristy, however nothing like Phuket and I was glad to have chosen this route on my way back to Phi Phi. In fact I recommend that anyone heading this way skip Phuket and check out Krabi instead.
We pulled in to Hanoi station about an hour late that morning, or maybe it was right on time, I was not sure at this point. I got off the train and said goodbye to Nguyen, thanking him for this amazing experience. With his email in my hand I knew I would be in touch with him in the future.
I really enjoyed the Sunway hotel and decided to return there, plus I still had the business card they hand out at the front desk with their address and map on the back in Vietnamese, so it was the easiest choice as all I had to do was hand it to a cab driver. It’s a great idea when you can’t speak the language, at least you can give people this card and they can point you in the right direction. We took off towards the hotel and this cab was thumping with some kind of Vietnamese techno music, awesome around 06:00 in the morning.
I got to the hotel and got a room. Once I got to my room I tossed my pack down and then jumped in the shower. This was the best shower ever, warm water included. I made good use of the shampoo and soap provided by the hotel. And it was great to dry off with a nice clean fluffy towel. I then made good use of the complementary toothbrush kit they provided, knowing that “drinkable water” came out of the faucet. I went to my pack and today was my lucky day, I still had one clean pair of boxers. So after today I was going to have to re-stock, with that in mind I picked out a few choice items and placed them in the laundry bag to have the hotel clean, then took a nap.
I woke up a few hours later and grabbed some lunch. I then headed out for one last trip around Hanoi. As you walk around people will come up to you about every 10 steps and say “Motorbike?”, meaning can they give you a ride someplace for money. These are just regular citizens, not licensed, not working for anyone, just people who have a motorbike and time on their hands. They all look and dress different, representing all kinds of motorbikes from thousand year old things that spew exhaust as they barely limp down the street to fairly new ones that can zip in and out of traffic before the person even realizes you just cut them off. The only problem here is that the only English they know is “Motorbike”, so if you want to actually go someplace you better have a map in hand, and you better agree on a price before you hop on so there are no “issues” if you are lucky enough to safely arrive at your destination.
It was my last day in Hanoi so I decided to jump on the back of one of these, plus it helps to have an IQ in the low 80s. It took some work but I was able to negotiate a price and path that we both agreed on, so I jumped on and pulled out my video camera. Traffic is scary in Hanoi and even scarier when viewed from the back of a motorbike. I’ll let my video tell the full story, but the short version, I thought I was going to die twice, came within two inches of hitting something about a thousand times, and had one minor “bump” in which neither of us crashed or fell over, so I guess you could say it was a safe and successful trip, and all while wearing sandals. The only problem was that I now stunk of exhaust.
Once back at the hotel I decided to calm my nerves with a few last Vietnamese beers, plus it was great to chat with my bartender friend again, he even scored me two free beers for the conversation as he wanted to hear as much about American and my life as I wanted to learn about his.
I headed up to bed and it was great to sleep on an actual mattress again, in fact the last time I did was the last time I was at this hotel on my first night in Hanoi.
