Drivin' Around in Our Moto-mobile

Back in 2007, my friend Cathy made a short video about the bike nation that is Vietnam.  So it was definitely exciting to get to see it in person.  But it was still rather mesmerizing to see how many motorbikes (scooters) there were and to hear them whiz by you.  They zig-zag around cars and each other as they jockey for a better position.  At times we would even see a motorbike riding on the sidewalk or even riding in the opposite flow of traffic.

One Way Street? No Problem, Just Ride on the Sidewalk

And even in the rain, they put on their ponchos and motor along.

So then what does a visitor do to get the feel of the true Vietnam?  Go on one of the bikes and join the masses?  Are you nuts?  It's pretty hectic out there just looking at them from the sidewalk let alone amongst them on the streets.  So we decided to be a little nuts and join them, but not on our own.  With locals that navigate the streets and around these motorbikes on a regular basis: www.mytigertour.com.

So Darin and I signed up for the twilight tour where we were picked up at our hotel at 5:30pm greeted by the sweetest 4 Vietnamese girls.  We were a little shocked that they were girls but even more surprised that there were 4 of them for just us 2.  There was one to drive Darin, one to drive myself, one main coordinator/photo taker, and one to drive the main coordinator.

So we said our hellos, showed briefly our route, jumped on the back of the motorbikes, and off we went.  Since it was around 5:30 pm, I was guessing that it was still in the thick of rush hour.  But thinking back on it, it seemed like there were a lot of motorbikes all the time.  The cool part was being able to Vietnamese people on their bike and so close.  On the sidewalk, they whiz by so quickly.  On the back of a motorbike, you're travelling at nearly the same speed, so you can look at them and wave and smile.  I even saw a girl ride her scooter with 3-4 inch heels.

Overall, the sights we saw were just mediocre (though where we had dinner was pretty yummy) but the company we had was awesome.  In between stops, we can chat it up w/ our perspective driver.  I found out where the expensive part of town (District 1), where the teenagers hang out on their dates (by the river or the park), that my driver, Chuc, is about to finish up school, that she loves Bangkok, and that she wants to learn French.  At dinner they taught us how to say "delicious" in Vietnamese (ngong wa), how to toast (1, 2, 3, YO!!!!), and how to wrap a spring roll, though we already knew that.

In the end of our tour, we were dropped off at our hotel and said our good-byes.  They then told us, if we ever need any help during our stay in Vietnam, to give them a call and they can help us out and even translate for us if needed. A couple days later, they e-mailed us w/ our photos from the evening and a little video compilation.

So if you ever find yourself in Saigon, we highly recommend this tour group.

Vietnam Cities Visited

Just left Vietnam yesterday and we had a great time.  A country that we would highly recommend to anyone.  We'll hopefully have posts up about the country sooner than later.  In the mean time, it's time to update our cities & transportation tallies.

Our last tally had us at 24 cities.  So on w/ our Vietnamese cities:
25. Ho Chi Minh City (AKA HCMC, AKA Saigon)
26. Phu Quoc Island (located just South of Cambodia)
27. Hanoi
28. Sapa (an 8 hour overnight train ride NW of Hanoi)
29. Halong Bay

Map of Vietnam; Hanoi in the North and HCMC in the South

Map of South Vietnam

Map of North Vietnam

Our transportation tally:
Hong Kong to HCMC by plane
HCMC to Phu Quoc Island by plane
Phu Quoc Island to Hanoi by plane
Hanoi to Sapa by train to Lao Cai, then van to Sapa
Sapa to Hanoi by van to Lao Cai, then train to Hanoi
Hanoi to Ha Long Bay by van
Ha Long to Hanoi by minibus

Plane rides: 8, previously at 5 plus the 3 listed above
Car rides: 10, previously at 7 plus the 3 vans listed above
Bus rides: 5, plus the minibus listed above
Ferry/boat rides: still at 5
Train rides: 17, previously at 15 plus the 2 listed above

Lots of travelling around!

Hong Kong

Hong Kong was tossed into the trip almost as way point rather than a destination. Anthony had been there before and loves the city so he was willing to return, and I didn’t really have any unique interest, but was up to visit.  So we hopped on an overnight train and nearly 24 hours later, we were in Hong Kong.

Darin in his Bunk on the Overnight Train to HK

Trying to Walk Through the Cars; One of the Many Looks Anthony Got For His Mohawk

In no time, I started to like the city as well. There is something familiar about Hong Kong, which probably has something to do with the 130 years of British rule. Because of this, there is less of a language barrier and it makes traveling that much easier. I would guess that around one third of the menus are written in both English and Chinese, with almost all expensive restaurants having both languages. The cross walks have beeping noises, subways remind you to "mind the gap", and double decked buses swarm the streets. Although the city has over 7 million inhabitants it never felt that crowded.

Tall, Skinny Trolleys of Hong Kong

There is a good big city/small city balance that seems to have been struck. Also, the people of Hong Kong are friendly, polite, and considerate. It could have been because we had just come from mainland China where there exists a different set of social norms to Hong Kong but it seemed to have a much more laid back feel.

Overlooking the Hong Kong Skyline from Victoria's Peak

One day as Anthony was resting from traveling, or resting from me, I went out and explored Hong Kong. I visited a park called Nan Lian Garden in the center of the city. The garden is located next to Diamond Hill subway stop and is surrounded by a shopping complex, schools, and some high rise apartment buildings. Outside the garden you can feel the full force of modern Hong Kong, but inside is an oasis. The garden is one of the meticulously maintained gardens that I have ever seen, so much so that many of the plants look plastic. While walking around the inside of the garden you can't hear the traffic and no one is in a rush to get by, the air almost feels cleaner. The juxtaposition of the calm garden against the big city is as bright as the sun and I tried to capture that contrast in these photos.

Shopping, Hong Kong Style

Shopping is one of the biggest attractions of Hong Kong. When Anthony posted on Facebook that we would be visiting the city, most of the comments included "I just love the shopping in Hong Kong". Even though neither of us are big shoppers we went out and explored this highly diverse shopping. Like most big cities, Hong Kong has all the big name luxury brands: Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Coach, and whole host of stores with names I could not pronounce and store fronts too expensive for me to walk into. It also offers Chinese made shirts for a few dollars and Louis Vuitton (or Luis Vitton) for a few dollars as well.  You can get a good quality tailored suit for only 100 USD. Not needing suits, and having only one set of clothes to wear since we were having our laundry being washed, we ended up in what we think to be a local Hong Kong brand store, Samuel & Kevin.  There, we bought two shirts, a belt, and six pairs of underwear for 425 Hong Kong dollars (55USD). Hardly a bargain but we look great!

Showing off our Snazzy New Outfits at "Dialogue In The Dark"

Dialogue in the Dark

Speaking of "Dialogue in the Dark," its not the best place to show off cloths because the entire exhibit is in complete darkness. Coming highly recommended on Tripadvisor and Wikitravel for activities in Hong Kong I booked us an English tour and we set off. Dialogue in the Dark has nothing to do with Hong Kong per se, since there are exhibitions all over the world.  It's an exhibit/activity that helps you understand, through experience, what it is like to be blind. You are given sticks and explained how to properly maneuver them side to side and then led into complete darkness where you meet your tour guide. Our guide walked us through different recreated urban environments and would ask us questions like, "When can we cross the street?" and "Are there any men's adult magazines on the newsrack?" At the end of the tour, still in the dark, we ordered some drinks, sat down and talked with our guide who informed us that she is in fact blind. Paying for drinks in the dark in Hong Kong is easy because all the bills are different sizes and have various textures that are easly recognizable. I asked our guide if it is hard to tell the money apart in the United States and she responded that its hard because to her they all feel the same, so she separates the bills in her purse and places different denominations in different parts of her purse. 

This was a wonderful experience that we both recommend. It not only helps you understand some of the daily challenges of being blind but it provides a new way on "seeing" the world. On our trip we are constantly running around when sightseeing and to look at one building or another. This exhibit reminded us to listen, taste, touch, and smell the sites as well. 

Chinese Food Makes Me Hungry

I've always liked Chinese food and so it was a real treat to experience non-Americanized Chinese food.  And though we've read that there are far numerous variations on Chinese food than what we're used to in the US, since we didn't get to much of China, we only got to try a small portion of what the country has to offer.

I LOVE DUCK!!!

Beijing, formerly known as Peking, is known for their Peking duck.  You can walk around the city and see duck hanging from butcher shops as you can see in most Chinatowns in the US.  So around the corner from our swank Hilton hotel was Quanjude (pronounced Shwan-jhu-de), one of the well known places in the city for their roasted Peking duck.  So we made a reservation and off we went.  As we've experienced in Japan and South Korea, there was a language barrier.  They did have an English menu, but not being able to communicate to the waitress properly, we were pushed onto the set meal.  So for 630 Ramibi/Yuan (a little less than $100), we got a 5-course meal.  

Storefront of Quanjude

Unfortunately, most of the courses were ok.  But fortunately, the duck was amazing.  As we were eating through our first three courses, a carver wheeled out 2 roasted duck and started carving (the other duck was for another table).  He meticulously took off the skin and cut them into perfect bite sized pieces and presented us with our plate of duck skin.  The waitress directed us to dip the skin in sugar that they provided.  Sugar?  Never heard of that before.  But WOW!!!  The skin was perfectly crisp and the sugar just brought the right amount of sweetness to bring out the full flavor of the skin.  I have always loved duck skin but this was on a new level of love.  And as we were being blown away by duck skin dipped in sugar, the carver continued to carve up our duck and serve it to us.  And of course, that too was amazing.  After our duck was fully carved, the waitress gave us a card that contained the number for our duck.  I guess they track these things.

Our Duck us No. 078051

And having to eat 5 courses of food, there was actually still a good chunk of duck left over.  So we had it packed up so that we can eat it later.  I've always found duck skin to not be good on the second day, but I thought it best to at least take it to go and we can throw it out later if we didn't like it.  But the next day, as we were packing to switch hotels, we start nibbling on the duck and found that the meat was still as tender and juicy as the night before and the skin was still surprisingly a little bit crispy.  Can you say, yummy?  

Street Food

As we've done in every country so far, we pass along numerous vendors selling various foods on the street and so we can't resist the delicious smell and the experience of eating like the locals.  In China, our first experience with street food was coming right off the metro for the first time, where a lady in her food cart would cook chopped up meat (beef, we think) in some sort of sauce and slop it on some bread. The smell alone convinced us to buy one and to our surprise it was only 5 Yuan (<$1).  Not sure what it was or what it was called, but what it was was delicious.  "I think we're going to like eating here," ran through my mind.

And we weren't disappointed.  In Shanghai and Hangzhou, we saw hordes of Chinese (because they only come in hordes during their holiday weeks) eating away at what looked like whole crabs dipped in batter and deep fried.  Again, the smell of alone convinced us that we had to partake.  Besides, deep fry anything and you know it would be good.  

But how does one eat crab as a street food?  Well do as the locals and just start biting off pieces of the crab and spitting out shells.  Since we've seen Chinese people just normally spit anywhere (be it spit or bits of corn), it would be well within social norm here to spit out your crab shell.  I'm just glad that most Chinese actually spit out their crab shells in trash bins placed around these food stalls.  Greasy and oily and messy to eat, the crab was oh so good.  And we got to eat another variety in Hangzhou where the crab was of a smaller variety that you can eat through most of the crab shell.  

We also got to eat our share of dumplings and other meats on sticks walking the streets of China.

Pineapple Fried Rice in a Pineapple

As we finished our pineapple fried rice, we notice people walk around with ice cream cones.  So we follow the trail to...McDonalds.  Not really street food but as I like to say, "Do as the locals."  And for 3 Yuans (50 cents), how can we resist.

Dim Sum

Dim sum is a Guangzhou style meal, usually for breakfast, that made it's way over to Hong Kong and eventually to the US (though only in major Chinatowns in the US).  The meal are bite sized morsels of meat or vegetable wrapped in dough and steamed cooked.  Traditionally, women push around carts with various dishes and you can either ask for one of the dishes or wait for another cart for something you like.  

 

So a quick google search and we come across an article on Wall Street Journal listing some dim sum places in Hong Kong.  And surprisingly, we were again staying around the corner from one of the best in the city.  So one of our Hong Kong mornings, we stroll over to Lin Heung Kui and have ourselves some dim sum.  We get seated on a 4 person table who we initially share with a lovely older lady and later replaced by two older gentlemen and we start choosing foods.  One of the things that this dim sum restaurant is known for is ma lai gao, a lightly sweetened steamed cake that was just absolutely delicious.

Darin and Our Ma Lai Gao

We also order the normal dim sum fare of shiu mai, dumplings, and other yummy dsihes.  Darin and I agree that this is the best dim sum place we've ever been to.  We wanted to try and go the next morning, but our flight was too early in the morning.  If you find yourself in Hong Kong near the Sheung Wang metro, go to this dim sum restaurant.  You won't regret it.  But if you do come to Lin Heung Kui, bring a newspaper so you can blend in with the locals.

Having Tea (of course) With our Dim Sum

The Little Things

I thought it would be nice to write a blog about some of the little things that by themselves don’t warrant their own entry but none the less are important and impact our daily adventures. 

Showers

It’s easy to let showers fall into the daily grind of life and forget what they offer. Too often we look at showers as an activity that takes time from the day as a social benefit of others and not ourselves. Our travels has rekindled a lost appreciation for showering. After a long day in the heat, humidity and smog of the cities we visit, even the humblest of showers can be one of the most relaxing and lovely activities possible. Washing off the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on my face at the end of a long day of sightseeing is deeply humanizing. The next shower you take, take an extra second to appreciate it.

 Currency

When arriving in a country we have found it is best to try and adjust to the currency by not thinking about the conversion to US dollars (USD). So when you see a bowl of soup for 7,000 South Korean Won (KRW), you think “that’s a good price” and not “Well in USD that’s about.. $7, so that seems ok.” To get to this level you have to start out converting to USD though. In some places this is easy, South Korea for example is about 1 USD to 1,000 KRW, so drop three zeros from the price and you're good. In Hong Kong it is a little harder with a conversion of 1 USD to 7.7 Hong Kong Dollars (HKD), in these cases it is a little more effort to divide so what works well is to use anchors and do some rounding. For example 10 USD is equal to about 80 HKD, 20 USD is about 160 HKD and so on. Though you lose a little in the conversion doing it this way, it gives you a general idea.  And then you can start thinking, "Oh, 100 HKD for a bowl of soup?  That's way too expensive.  Where's that 40 HKD soup we had the other day?"  

So far Vietnam has been the hardest, not because of dividing but because there are way too many zeros. One USD is equal to about 20,000 Vietnamese Dong.  So a bowl of Pho will cost between 35,000 and 60,000 Dong and yesterday we had dinner for 220,000 Dong. It also doesn’t help that the 10,000 and 100,000 notes look alike and they all have similar designs with the same person.  Some guy named Ho Chi Minh or something. We're just not rich enough to be used to all those zeros.  (Though in Vietnam, Anthony's ATM receipt shows that he's a billionaire, so he has to be careful to not whip out his dong on the street).

We now feel sorry for all the non-Americans coming to the states and trying to figure out our money system since our greenbacks must look so similar to them.

Coffee

Perhaps this deserves its own post, I know there are a number of other coffee lovers out there reading this blog. I'll give a quick blow by blow by country.

Philipines – Here you will find mostly instant coffee served at restaurants, hotels, and mostly anywhere other than chain coffee places like “Starbucks” or “Seattle’s Best”. Civet coffee, known throughout the world as one of the best coffees, are created by the ingestion of the beans by the civet cat, defecated, collected, cleaned (hopefully), and roasted .  Though mostly credited as coming from Indonesia, the civet cat can also be found in Northern Luzon in the Philippines, so you can also get civet coffee here.  With the exception of civet (and the numerous American coffee chain restaurants), not the best place for coffee lovers. Though we didn't get to try civet coffee while in the Philippines, a special thanks to Rex and Me-Ann (Anthony's cousins) who have sent us some civet beans to appreciate when we return to the States. 

Japan – Coffee is not really part of the Japanese culture, and as such you neither find coffee houses nor is it common in restaurants.  Oddly, it can be found at almost every corner in the Japanese vending machine. For those of you who don’t know, vending machines are as much a part of the culture as… fish… almost. This vending machine coffee comes in any possible combination of the following; hot or cold, sugar or not, milk or not, and can or cup. The coffee is surprisingly good for coming out of a vending machine, and will help you start the day. It’s not great but it tastes better than a lot of other coffee I’ve had. So coffee lovers, feel free to come to Japan.

South Korea – South Korea seems to love their coffee. It is hard to give a general assessment because there is an endless array of independent coffee shops and the couple we tried were pretty good.  American chain coffee houses are everywhere here as well. What I can say is you should have no problems finding a coffee house.  

China – Don’t bother, drink tea.

Vietnam – So here is the gem and the reason I wanted to write about coffee and the reason I jump from bed in the morning in Vietnam. I don’t know what the national tourist slogan is for Vietnam, but it should be, “We have the best damn coffee in the world.” You will not find Starbucks or Coffee bean here, probably because any street vendor can make a cup of coffee that would shame the average cookie-cutter barrista (plus, Vietnam is still somewhat anti-American, so you won't find a lot of American chain restaurants). We have had coffee at a number of establishments including coffee houses, restaurants, and our hotels. You might think, as I did, that at an included buffet breakfast, sitting on a warming plate, a glass, diner-like coffee pot would produce coffee close to that of dirty bath water. How wrong I could be.  Even buffet coffee is good. In Vietnam, we have yet to have an even mediocre cup.  All have been better than the average cup of coffee in the states. Should you venture into a dedicated coffee house, of which there are many, for between 18,000 Dong (0.90 USD served black) and 25,000 Dong (1.25 USD served with condensed milk) you can enjoy a gift from the gods. I should clarify that this liquid crack is unlike the drip coffee we have in the states.  First off, the serving size is smaller (demitasse size) and I have no idea about the type of grounds they use or how fine they grind it. This apogee of life nectar is as dark as death and would need an almost equal part of condensed milk before it lightens up. The texture is thick like melted butter, and surprisingly I have never had any grounds in the bottom of my cup. There is nothing bitter or burnt about the flavor, it’s smooth, buttery, and chocolatey. Drinking this luxurious liquid is closer to that of dark chocolate liqueur than coffee. It is possible I exaggerated a little, but we have another week in Vietnam to see how this love story turns out.

Down Days

Packing and unpacking every three days gets tiring. Surfing online for sightseeing and running around all day to various activities gets tiring as well. As I write this I can hear your thoughts, “Whine whine… traveling around East Asia is sooo hard, try working all day like me.” Oh yeah?  Get back to work then...ok don’t… never mind that. I don’t want to whine or sound unappreciative of this great opportunity but at the same time that doesn’t mean that the trip doesn’t get tiring or frustrating. So given this, we have found that taking a day here and there to just sit around, blog, facebook, and watch “Game of Thrones” helps with the constant go go go of traveling.

Tally Up

Looks like we've been a little lax in our tally updates.  So we're in Veitnam now, but this list will just go through South Korea and China.  So that puts our countries tally to 4.

At the last time we left you, we were at 16 cities.  And below are the list of cities we've been to since Japan:
17. Busan, South Korea
18. Seoul
19. Suwon, South Korea
20. Beijing
21. Badaling, China (where we visited the Great Wall of China)
22. Shanghai
23. Hangzhou, China
24. Hong Kong

South Korea Map With Busan in the Lower Right Corner, Seoul  Near the N Korea Border, and Suwon  Just South of Seoul

Map of China & South Korea

Beijing to Badaling

Shanghai with Hangzhou to the SW

Here is our transportation tally:
Plane rides: 5 (previously at 4 plus flight from Seoul to Beijing)
Car rides: still at 7
Bus rides: still at 4
Ferry/boat rides: 5 (previously at 4 plus ferry from Fukuoka, Japan to Busan, South Korea)
Train rides: 15 (previously at 7 plus train from Busan to Seoul, Seoul to Suwan, Suwan to Seoul, Beijing to Badaling, Badaling to Beijing, Beijing to Shanghai, Shanghai to Hangzhou, Hangzhou to Hong Kong)