Last Day In Saigon

Day 49: Ho Chi Minh City
Was really looking forward to my last day in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon to it's mates) because today's agenda included a trip to the ChiChi Tunnels (where the Viet Cong staged their underground campaign) and finishing off with a chance to shoot and M16 on the rifle range.
I've shot a few different handguns in my time but never a machine gun, especially one with a rate of fire up to 950 rounds per minute, 20 inch barrel and a range of half a mile, developing countries are the only place you will ever get the chance to wield such devastating weaponry without signing on at your local army recruitment office for a two year stint.
All for the price of a hot dinner back home....
I had already rebooked my afternoon flight to accomodate this, the tour finished at 2pm so I changed it to the final flight of the day which was 6pm so I could take my sweet time on the range but still have plenty of time for the cab ride if the traffic was heavy.
Then it happened...
First a sniffle.
Then a cough.
I was falling sick again.
For someone who usually gets sick once every three years the averages were beginning to level out as I have now been sick twice in two months, I can only put it down to being off my usual supplements and catching too many planes. On a side note, it can be advantageous to get on to a plane when you are coughing and spluttering, sure fire way to get a row of seats to yourself. Unfortunately when you get to the other end they will have all the thermo sensors to check for H1N1 so you have to take the flight in shorts, slippers and a singlet to cool your body temperature down or else you will be spending a few days in quarrantine.
Which is not great for your body when you are in a feverish condition...
To make a long story short I cancelled the trip to the range and tunnels and ended up going to the War Museum instead (formerly know as the War Crimes Museum), and looking through the exhibits.
The exhibit covers the effects of Agent Orange on the populace of Vietnam (to this day still), atrocities committed by US Soldiers during the war and the general suffering endured by civilians in the region. Pretty harrowing stuff to say the least.

After about an hour in there looking at all that stuff I really didn't give a shit about shooting that stupid gun anymore.

Peace.

Mekong Delta

Day 48: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Today I went to the Mekong Delta.
We cruised along the river in a big canoe.
When two boats had to pass alongside each other it there wasn't much room....I stopped at a village to take some photosI sat at the side of the road for half an hour trying to get a picture of some Vietnamese villagers walking past in their hats while the flag flew in the breeze behind them...
There wasn't really anything else to do out there.

Good Morning Vietnam

Day 47: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Veet-nam!
Wasn't sure how I was going to like Vietnam, a lot of travellers warn against it but I am having a great time over here and apart from the rip off taxi in from the airport I have nothing but praise for this fair city of Indochina. Will try to recount how I ended up here in 500 words or less because I am really keen to get off the keyboard and back into Saigon for my last night on the town.
Seriously though, I have got to start taking some notes because trying to recollect more than a few days on the road without some form of written assistance makes my brain bleed, if I get some times or dates wrong please extend me some understanding...
Ah yes.
Left Chang Mai on Wednesday afternoon for the beautiful Thai city of Bangkok, which is not actually it's real name, dontcha know? Im back over there on Tuesday before my 2 week sojourn to the monastary so will post again on this wonderful city then. Needless to say, I love the Thailand and have found the Thai people the most friendly, centered and down to earth people I have ever met, it must be some thing in the water over there because everyone is so happy, from the bartenders to the guys digging ditches on the side of the road. I only spent one night in Bangkok (cue music NOW) but found Bangkok as welcoming as all Thai cities I have been in, caught up with a few Malaysian Warriors that are based over there now and had a lovely game of pool and an early night for an early flight the next day.And that's the last time I am booking a flight before 8am.
Was so tired that when I got into Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon) at 10am the next day all I wanted to do was go back to bed, which I promptly did when I checked in at the guest house at the other end of the trip.
Saigon is cheap! Just had a massive diner or bbq pork ribs, ceasar salad and 3 marguaritas for the princely sum of 240,000 dong.
That's about 2 American Dollars (AUS2.50 or MYR7.50).
Not bad.
The main event for Vietnam was the Grand Final day yesterday, which despite a valiant effort the Saints managed to lose, much to the heartbreak of all assembled.
Made it down to the Cage pub for the Vietnam Swans Grand Final day, not so cheap here though at US$50 which only included beer, wine and soft drink but was a great atmosphere to watch the game with all the other Aussie expats. Met heaps of people and after the game went off with a few crew to another place on the other side of town for more drinks, by the time I got home was completely hammered and looked at my watch to see the time...
8pm.
Well that's what happens when you start drinking at 10am in the morning.

I think the Vietnamese found the whole event very confusing...
Still can't get Khe San out of my head, will give it a until Friday before getting professional help.

Cliffhanging in Chang Mai

Day 44: Chang Mai, Thailand

I think Chang Mai takes the cake as far as adventure sports goes.

To be perfectly honest, there's not a hell of alot to do in the city, it's all really a jumping off point for all the activities that take place around the mountains and forests outside of the town. You have your pick of rock climbing where you can go out for the day or for a whole week, hiking through the jungle and up cliff faces where you find them, white water rafting (currently at level 3), jungle trekking to meet native tribes in the jungle or a combination of all of teh above. Of course all the ATV biking and zip lining sort of stuff that they have any where there is mud and forest, as well as the paintball and zorb ball options.

As with all my recent trips, time is short and I have Chang Mai firmly marked as a place I need to come back and spend more time at, I did manage a few days rock climbing though which was the main objective of this short journey which I only decided on at short notice after leaving Bali, but such is life when you try and take in a whole continent in 80 days.

Did I mention that Chang Mai is incredibly cheap?

I got a 2 day climbing trip for 1500 baht (MYR150/AUS50) which was unbelievable after how much Bali and Philippines cost for any sort of trip, the room I am staying in is just 400baht (MYR40/AUS13) per night and is in a relly nice, quiet part of town. There's a massive big common area with all sorts of hammocks and lounges and a rooftop chill out area with a great view of the local streets, they also organise tours and trips from there which makes it quite easy to while away the hours in comfort between activities. Theres a tiger park just outside of town where you can have your picture taken with a full grown tiger but from what I have heard the thing is so out of it's head on tranquilisers that I don't think I'll bother to go after all.

A bit sore today after the climbing, there was a bit of rain about so we went to this cavern about an hour out of town. The thing about rockclimbing is that it requires alot of forearm and calf strength, which take a while to build up. Managed a few good climbs, out of them all there was only one I couldn't get to the top of, then we stopped in at a little Lanna restaurant outside of the town. I always try to get the guides to have a drink whenever possible, it's become a bit of a game with me and a few other travellers that I've met to see how pissed we can get them because they always try to keep up with us drink for drink, dangerous when you are drinking with English or Australian travellers. Met a really cool girl from Japan who is celebrating her honeymoon alone because her husband won't take the time off from work and is spending a month in Thailand, travelling between cities and I'm embarrased to say actually completed the last climb I couldn't. I love the Japanese and there sense of adventure, they are always up for whatever is going down. In Perth when I was in my early twenties me and a few friends who worked at the same pub used to share a house and we had a spare room that we rented out to save on the bills, we went through alot of housemates because they couldn't live in such a crazy environment. Eventually we had a few Japanese guys come through and stay who didn't mind the noise, constant stream of visitors and weird hours that were kept in the house.
And that's why I love Japanese people.
Sayonara.

Chang Mai

Day 43: Chang Mai, Thailand
'If you're not happy children, travel wide'
-Soul Rebel, Bob Marley and the Wailers
Well said Bob.
It certainly does the trick as far as re-motivating yourself and having a good hard think about what you value in life, and what do you really need in life rather than what do you think you need. A clean bed, a bit of food to eat, after a while all the rest is really window dressing on what is otherwise a fairly pointless exercise unless you are really passionate about what you are doing. Time has a habit of slipping away when you are on the corporate treadmill, before you know it you've spent a lifetime without really knowing what it is that makes you happy and focussing on moving in that direction. As I said, it's been good to have the time to think about what's important without the constant sideshows that are ever present in this modern life and dust off the cobwebs in the enthusiasm generation plant.
I was in Malaysia for the weekend as an old mate was in town so thought it would be good to catch up on the way through to Thailand. Bali was awesome, I would really love to spend a month or two there or throughout Indo surfing and enjoying our northern neighbour's hospitality. I finally finished the rubbish book that I brought with me from Malaysia, as i have previously mentioned on this blog I am currently travelling with 14kg of luggage which keeps me in AirAsia's under 15kg weight price category but I need to be very careful not to pick up any additional things on the way which will put me over. I restrict myself to one book for entertainment and one book for self development, the self development one was so bad that I would chip away at it in 10 page sessions, I got over the line on the plane from Dempasar so I was glad to say goodbye to it so I could pick up something new.
Stayed in Kuta on Friday night so I would be close to the airport for my flight on Saturday morning, was ,eant to go out for Simon's birthday but I fell asleep watching the footy and didn't wake up until 4am. Must have been exhausted after all those early mornings and late nights in Padang Padang, when I was getting dressed on Saturday morning there was a massive earthquake which rattled the guest house I was staying in. My first thoughts were that maybe another bomb had gone off in Kuta fresh in the wake of JI mastermind Noordin Top's death on Java, fortunately this was not the case and as far as I know there were no fatalities from the earthquake.
Was nearly late for my plane because I needed some shoes for Saturday night (I dumped my old dress shoes to make more room) but could not find a single shop which sold size 11 shoes. I would be getting into Malaysia at 5pm with a view to catching up for drinks at 10pm so only chance was to visit Petaling Street (Chinatown) when I got into KL. I think I found the only pair of size 11 shoes in the whole place which was lucky, it turned out that the planned evening was cancelled due to sickness so I ended up going out with a few of the boys from the footy club instead, one of whom got in a fight with a drag queen and her(?) 5 Filipina friends, who all armed themselves with shoes as soon as the conflict escalated. When I put my jeans on Saturday night I realised the button was broken off the front, I then recalled that I did this in The Bounty on Kuta the previous Saturday night and hadn't noticed because I had been wearing shorts the rest of the time, in The Bounty they have all these Happy Hours, but with a twist... The drinks aren't half price, instead you get two of them, hence the button coming off as my marguerita filled tummy swelled under the strain of so much liquid.
Got into Chang Mai on Monday afternoon and checked in at a backpacker joint, treated myself to a private room because they are so bloody cheap here! The same goes for the rest of the city, Thailand has always amazed me by the variety of western food available to buy, I mean, Malaysia is the king when it comes to the amount of food available but it is mainly Chinese, Malaysian and Indian food on offer. Had a spectacular Ravioli al Raghu from an Italian Restaurant on the main strip, a few Changs then off to bed after booking a rock climb for the following day.
Good times.

Same Same Different

Day 41: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

You know you are in Kuala Lumpur when:

1. The guy meant who's meant to be watching the H1N1 thermal imaging monitor at the airport is texting on his mobile phone instead

2. The immigration officer is listening to his Ipod while he processes your entry into the country

3. There's a 10% service charge automatically added to every bill because if the bar and waiting staff had to rely on tips after their atrocious service they would starve to death

4. The electronic timetable at the underground station counts down to your train's scheduled time, when it hits the scheduled time and no train has arrived it resets itself forward another half hour later. The train arrives whenever it arrives, but when it does it is too full to board.

5. You must visit four Seven Elevens before you can find one with mobile phone credit recharge in stock

6. You must hail 3 cabs to find one that agrees to put the meter on (or to a reasonable fare)

7. It cost you the equivilent of 3 days accomodation in Thailand for 20 minutes internet use at your so called 'free wi-fi' hotel

Get me out of here.

Just kidding.
Selamat Hari Raya Alfiliri to all my Malaysian friends, hope you are having a great holiday and enjoying lots of makan makan with your families.

Just uploaded a whole heap of pics that I took on my phone after my camera broke in the Philippines, have posted them on the appropriate blog entries.

Laser pointers are great

Day 37: Padang Padang, Bali, Indonesia
You can buy laser pointers in Bali, its fantastic.
Endless hours of fun, particularly with animals and children, as seen in the pics.
Back to KL for Saturday night then on the train to northern Thailand.
Just saw on the news that they killed the mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombings which killed 202 people, 80 of them Australian. Might head down to the monument in Kuta and leave a Bintang there as a show of respect to the poor kids who were blown apart for the crime of visiting a nightclub.