Around the world in 80 raves Chapter 7

List of images in reverse order.

1. Mai at Cafe 43 Hoi An, 2.Choose you Lingham, My Son, 3.Thank you America My Son, 4.The beach Hoi An, 5.My new Thai friends Dong Hoi, 6.Laos border crossing, 7.The next bus to Savannakhet, Taxi! 8.View from bus window, 9.Garden shrine

Savananakhet Laos 29th October 2007

I was sorry to leave dear Hoi An, it was really starting to feel like home there and my last two days were especially fun. I discovered a beautiful beach at a small fishing village whilst I was out and about cycling around on a wild stormy day. There were guys far out to sea, fishing from these tiny round corracle type boats, battling with the waves with such skill. As they started to make their way ashore the villagers gathered on the beach. As they got nearer even greater skill was required to negotiate the breaking waves, incredible, they watched and waited and then at the right moment surfed the waves. But at the last moment one of them came a cropper and over went the boat. But all was not lost as the fish were secure in a basket and the boatman held fast to the rope which joined to the boat and the fish basket. Everyone went to the rescue and soon the catch was being distributed to all... That night back in town it was the full moon festival. No bikes or cars were allowed near the river and there were lanterns everywhere and people floated candles in paper lanterns on the river. So beautiful to see. Next day, my last in the town I went on a trip to a holy place called My Son, site of 70 ancient Cham temples of which only 20 remain after the bombings inflicted on the area by the Yanks in the Vietnam war. The temples are Hindu, dedicated to Shiva and Rama with a lot of tantric lingams and yonis sculpture scattered about the place. In one temple they had some US shells displayed alongside the sacred carvings which I overheard one of the guides describing as American Lingams. Such a crime to bomb such places, some of the temples were just heaps of rubble. Later that day I plucked up the courage to rent a motorbike and took myself up the coast road to take a look at the famous China beach and then a place called Marble Mountain which is literally what it is. All around its base are marble carvers, sculpting amazing artifacts, but now they use marble imported from China as they realised that there would be no more Marble Mountain if they continued to hack away at it. On the mountain are numerous temples and shrines inside caves and pagodas of both the Buddist and Hindu ilk. I climbed right to the top, met a couple of young Swedish girls being escorted by 2 Vietnamese lads who were really sweet and friendly, but I realised it was getting dark very fast and didn't want to drive back in the dark, so I rushed away only to run out of petrol half way back to town...oooh errr. Slight panic, but then my new friends came along the road stopped, went off to get me petrol (in a plastic bag!) and then escorted me back in convoy. My trusty angels strike again. Then my last day, I awoke to bright sunshine, gorgeous day, oh so sad to leave but the bus was not till afternoon so I cycled to the beach again and at least got a swim and a little sunbathe in before departure. And then a last lunch at my home away from home, the Cafe 43, run by a beautiful family and selling the most delicious and cheap food in town and right next door to my swish hotel. I've become almost one of the family so there were sad farewells to be said before I departed.

The next leg of the journey, a 6hr bus ride back north to a town called Dong Ho followed by a sleep over till 5 the next morning at a simple guesthouse followed by a 3hr minibus ride to the Laos border, and then another couple of hours on a local Laos bus to this town. Total price including the sleepover around 15 euro. At the night stop I was told that 3 other people were coming and that I would have to share a room with one of them. They turned out to be 3 Thai cyclists returning from a bike tour of Vietnam, residents of Bangkok and again, thank you angels, great people, great company. A woman called Nue, her partner Rat and their friend Charoon who runs a coffee shop and travel club in Bangkok city. I now have an invitation to look them up in Bangkok when I get there, lucky me. So we spent the night and following day together on our low in luxury but high in interest value journey. The bikes were packed in the back of the minibus and then to our surprise so were mountains of packages of produce and a big gang of women heading to sell their wares at market. And then packed in like sardines off we set only to stop numerous times along the way to squeeze in yet more and yet more people. We sped inland, into tropical mountain landscape, white water river rushing alongside, past simple wooden/bamboo palm thatched dwellings on stilts, swerving to avoid the occasional goat, water buffalo, cow, dog, child on oversized bike, rat, overturned lorryload of bananas and much more all making their way on this road. And so we arrived at last at the Laos border where we all got off and walked (or rode) through the checkpoint for visa checks etc. Then a ride on a motorbike for 3km to the bus station. Its amazing how crossing a line marked on a map changes everything, new language, new food, completetly different lifestyle. My Thai friends could communicate as Lao and Thai languages are very similar. The Lao people are famous for their laid back attitude to life, they like to take things easy and slowly. Nobody here tries to sell you anything, whereas in Vietnam everyone is selling eagerly and try very hard not to take no for an answer. Savannakhet is a bit run down but it's an attractive French colonial style town with wide tree lined boulavards, ornate Buddist temples and a fine well preserved Catholic church, and everyone has these neat little shrines in their gardens. It's spacious and airy, situated alongside the Mekong river, and you can clearly see Thailand on the other side. There's little traffic and it's very bike friendly so again I've hired a bike and cruised about a bit to get to know the lie of the land. I was going to head on north today but my day progressed well and I decided to stay another night. I took lunch in a vegetarian restaurant where I met a young woman called Bai who runs the nextdoor traditional Lao massage therapy shop. She told me that she was a great Enya fan and had all her albums. We chatted about music for a bit and I let her hear some of the stuff I had recorded on my mp3 yoke and she loved Kate Rusby, and Kathryn Tickell and Lunasa and a few other things, so we went into a computer place and got them copied onto CD for her. Then I decided to go for the traditional Lao massage which was a bit like Shiatsu and excellent (cost about 2.50 euro for 1 hr) and then I cycled around some more and ate a delicious dinner in a floating restaurant on the Mekong river as the sun set. And now I will leave in the morning for Vientiane which is the capital city of Laos, a 9hr bus ride away.

Around the world in 80 raves Chapters 1, 2 and 3

25th September 2007

Hello lovely friends,
Just sending you all a first installment of the big trip. Flew out of London on the 18th September on a flight to Moscow feeling slightly nervous but very excited. It was strange waiting to get on the plane surrounded by severe looking Russians as if I was about to enter an old spy movie. Arriving in Moscow was pretty much the same; on the whole Russian people don't smile much and the place is all rather stark and crumbling and run down looking. There's lots of cracked and broken concrete, ugly buildings, functional no frills vehicles, rusty metal etc.etc.However with the help of a friendly woman on the train from the airport I found a taxi and eventually arrived at Sweet Moscow Hostel, a little haven in the big bad world. Very basic it was, just someone's tiny appartment converted to a hostel, bunk beds in every room, one shower and loo for 18 people, wires hanging out of the walls in the stair well and one of those cranky old lifts that you wondered if it was safe to enter; but full of friendly interesting folk so I instantly felt at ease. Next day the weather was fine, the sun was shining bright and warm so I set out on the big Moscow walkabout. All I can say is amazing!...The buildings of the Kremlin, St Basils cathedral with the bright coloured onion domes, the Red Square and the Lenin museum are just stunning. I met a gang of young Russian bagpipe players on the street and started chatting, they gathered some of their mates together and sang a beautiful Russian harmony song for me, shared their beer and just hung out for a while. Had a great day..back to Sweet Moscow for sleep. A young couple from Leeds at the hostel happened to be on the same train as me so next evening we set out together on the Metro to find the train station. The Moscow Metro is another story, each station lavishly decorated each in a different style and some as if you could hold a grand ball inside with mosiac work or frescos or ornate plasterwork. We emerged to find we had 4 railway stations to choose from with trains leaving for all parts of this vaste country, all signs in Russian script and none of us knew which one we should be at. We all had a minor panic while we trudged from station to station trying to find someone with a language in common to ask but eventually we found the right one and train number 6 to Mongolia. There starts a new chapter, a timeless 5 days in the world of the vodka train. It was fantastic fun, much partying, laughing, chatting, hanging out, reading, sleeping, eating, card, dice and Russian backgammon playing, taking exercise treking up and down the train to and from the restaurant car. Stopping at various stations along the way to buy yummie goodies to munch from old peasant ladies. So we travelled 4hrs time difference towards the sun from Moscow (7hrs from home), the days passed incredibably fast and now I'm in Ulaan Battar in Mongolia. Thanks Maud for the hostel tip, I'm very happy with my room with Mr Temujiin, I have a front room with a balcony overlooking the main street from which I can watch the world go by. Tomorrow I'm off out on the horse riding and staying overnight in a traditional ger (yert). Then it's back on the train to Beijing in 4 days time....the next episode. There's loads of photos on my new magic phone mp3 camera yoke which I'm delighted with.

Monday 1st October 2007

I can hardly believe it. I'm in Beijing already, city of 28,000,000 people, enormous skyscrapers of extraordinary modern architecture as far as the eye can see, seas of traffic, with pockets of old style hutong China in between. There's a cloud of pollution hanging over the city which I'm told the sun sometimes manages to break through but at the moment its's raining and grey. But on many levels it does seem to work; it feels safe here, it's easy to get around, the infra structure is in place, there's no hassel on the streets, the police do not seem to carry weapons, people smile. I have an excellent room in the Saga Youth Hostel with a huge super kingsize comfortable bed and the hostel is just brilliant. But all that is only a very first impression as I only arrived yesterday afternoon and as yet have not been exploring the city. Stepping back a bit in time....On the train from Ulaan Bataar to Beijing I met a lovely young Mongolian woman with her beautiful 2 yr old daughter Elizabeth, who lives in Canada and therefore speaks excellent English. She was studying agricultural economics and also working for an NGO which promoted Mongolian Culture abroad particularly through the publication of tradition children's folk stories. She was being met at the train station by one of her NGO colleagues, a man called Dahli who was from Mongolian China and therefore a Mongolian and Chinese speaker. She invited me to join her later that afternoon for a sight seeing trip and so we planned to meet after one hour to head out of town as quickly as possible and put our feet on the Great Wall of China. Dahli the driver brought his father along because he was also very keen to visit the Wall again. It was around 6 pm before we finally managed to get away from town and begin the 67km journey. It was already getting dark, the traffic was extremely heavy because by then it was rush hour and we were wondering if we would still be able to get onto the Wall at tht late hour or even see anything in the dark if we could. But we were all in great spirits and headed on regardless... arriving to find the entrance gates closing. But our guide persuaded the attendants to let us in anyway and Tuyana, her wee daughter and myself were allowed onto the wall for half an hour. It was floodlit on account of this being a big festival week in Beijing (and of course because I was there) and we had the wall to ourselves, not another tourist in sight. It was just brilliant. After we went to a small little restaurant where I ate the best Chinese food ever, nothing like anything I ever got in a western Chinese restaurant. So that was my first night in Beijing. But now I need to step back another 4 days to relate the tale of my night out in the wilderness of beautiful Mongolia. I was driven out to the National Park about 60 Kms from Ulaan Bataar by my driver Bodr to a small settlement of Gers or Yurts as the Russians call them set in a forest now golden with autumn colour beside a gushing river. There I was greeted by beautiful Natsagaa and her handsome husband Tsogoo and settled in my warm comfortable ger where I was served tea and lunch. The sun was shining bright and the weather fairly warm. Fed and watered, Natsagaa and I set of for a walk which included visiting her friends and relations around and about. First stop was her parents'place, a tiny wooden shed the size of a garden shed. Inside her parents aged 75ish, looking 85ish by our standards, toothless and wrinkled, smiling and beautiful. Their tiny home which was warm and cosy and heated by a woodburner with a Buddhist altar opposite the door, was basic but very attractive. I was given homemade yogourt and soft cheese to taste and vodka to drink. Next stop, a tiny ger which housed Lemar, aged 78, her daughter and three granddaughters, extremely poor, no man in the house and absolutely no luxuries. But again the welcome was huge; a loaf of dry bread was cut and shared and tea was served. There were so many other characters that I was introduced to, old folk, children, the local mechanic etc. I was sung songs by the oldies and children which are recorded on the amazing phone/camera mp3 yoke for the audio Round the World in 80 raves CDtobe released next year.

Wed 3rd October

There's too much detail going into this, I have to start being more brief as so much happens every day that I'm getting further and further behind. So back to now and Beijing. I am gob-smacked by this place, it is a totally unbelievable experience. So vaste, the most astonishing huge new architectural constructions as far as the eye can see, and then the old buildings from the days of the empire, so beautiful and well maintained, and so many people especially this week which is National holiday week. But people smile, give way and respect each other, it feels completely safe nd organised and it works. Bicycles have complete priority on the roads and are definitely the best way to get about. The food is fantastic, and so cheap, had more than we could eat of delicious vegetarian food for 2 people with a bottle of beer for less than a couple of euro. I have had the lovely Lily to show me around Beijing and show me the ropes. Lily is a young ex-student of Lisa Citarelli, my friend who was teaching in China a few years ago (thanks Lisa for putting her in touch with me). So have been seeing the sights by bike, by subway, by bus and by walking. Last night, surprise surprise, when I returned to the hostel there was a note in my door from Dan Hummel (of West Cork Sheeps Head and famous for the Japanese hot tub for those who don't know him) who had just arrived back from Japan. He was out at a bar across the city a way where Ato (last seen at the Ballydehob busking competition 2005 playing with Fiona and Ruti) had a gig. Lily and I jumped in a taxi and went off to find him. Mad or what? I will truely never be the same again after this trip.

Tuesday 9th October 2007

Dali, Yunnan Province S. China. So here I am in the ancient city of Dali, and still raving. Beijing was amazing to experience but a relief to leave. Big cities have never really been my thing and Beijing is bigger than anything you can imagine. Getting down here involved yet another train experience, this time only 39hrs and a Chinese train. Beijing train station, enormous, absolutely state of the art modern and so easy to use despite the millions of passengers. For the first day on the train I thought I was the only Euopean, and was sharing what they call a hard sleeper with 5 Chinese ladies aged between 18 and 75yrs. All very smiley and welcoming but communication was very limited until one of them got the bright idea of texting messages off to her English speaking friend for translating and then handing me the phone to do the same. On day 2 I met a mad bunch of French and Ozzy people, 11 of them also on their way to Dali so I tagged along. Aurianne was a Chinese French woman who could speak Chinese, newly wed back in her parent's village trad. Chinese style, to a mad Irish/Ozzy. They were off to do some trecking down here with all their Parisien and Oz friends and relations. I trailed along after them off the train at Kunming and straight onto a bedbus for Dali. The bus actually got called back for us, having just set off, because we were such a big gang. Another, first, a Chinese smelly bedbus, no seats just bunk beds, duvets aand pillows. Gazed out the windows for a while at the Chinese rural landscape, what a difference to Beijing. Total low tech agriculture, small handtilled patches of rice paddies, and every spare space filled with other kinds of veg, spinach, pakchow, pumpkins, maize, cabbage and all those exotic Chinese greens we love to grow back there in West Cork. And in between masses of wild Cosmos flowers. It's all pretty impressive on the food production front, lots of peasant farmers beavering away in their old style coolie hats. There's no wasted cultivatable land anywhere. If there's a space grow veg on it but I don't suppose any of it is very organic! After a while I dozed off and awoke in Dali new town, an ugly, bustly sprawling mess off a place, and we were then straight onto another small bus to bring us the 10kms or so to the old town. I tagged along again with my new found travelling companions to their hostel where I booked myself in for the night, a really nice comfortable place to recover from the journey. Being with a Chinese speaker certainly made that epic journey run very smooth for me. Dali is a very beautiful and historically interesting place though rather on the touristy side, and particularly so because it was still the National holiday week and all historic places are swarming with prosperous Chinese Holiday makers. This is the place where Dan Hummel has a house and also an interest in a mountain guesthouse venture. So on his instruction next day I found my way to the mountain chairlift (another first for me) and trundled up the steep mountainside looking down on the tree tops and Buddhist graves, wondering if they were people who fell off their chairs. Then arriving at the terminal I heaved myself up numerous steep steps, past a couple of beautifull Buddhist/Tao temples to arrive at the Higherlands guesthouse. What a wonderful sanctuary of peace after all my travels. Ah Ping and Li Peng, gave me a first class welcome, another couple of hikers from France turned up for the night, really nice and then Chris from Bremen in Germany who owns a bar in the town, taking a break for a few days. Excellent food and company followed by a sound night's sleep and then I awoke to find myself in the clouds, rain pouring down just like West Cork. But it was lovely there anyway, went for an 11km walk in the rain to stretch the legs. Today I came back down to the sunshine. Dan had phoned from where ever it is that he's trecked off to, to arrange that I could sleep in his house down on the outskirts of town. There is a lovely young Chinese family who live there and look after it for him and it's just really nice and comfortable. Today I borrowed a bike and cycled off out of town and then down through a village to the enormous lake that Dali sits beside. The people are just so smiley and friendly, "Ni Ha" they all say. It's rice harvest time and they are all working away cutting, stacking to dry in neat rows of little hat things and hand threshing it in any available flat space, the village square, the living room, the courtyard. All the doors are open and you gaze in to a game of Majong, or to my delight a bunch of women with their babies getting their hair done. They all beamed at me as I passed and beckoned me in, so we passed a while exchanging names and ages and the children trying to say "hello in English". hen I shook hands with each of them "pleez ta meet yo, Bye Bye". I haven't mentioned the food yet. I really like the Chinese style of eating, nothing like anything ever tasted in a Western style Chinese restaurant. You choose your dishes to be prepared from an amazing array of different vegetables, live sea and freshwater foods, meats and all sorts of plants that I don't recognise at all. The individual dishes are then wokked up while you wait, you communally pick away with your chopsticks and it all tastes incredibly fresh and healthy. Yummy. However I must be on my way soon, have booked a train ticket from Kunming to Nanning for Thursday and then hopefully can get on another train to Hanoi in Vietnem on Friday night. Tempus fugit and I'm really keen to spend time in Vietnam. I'm looking forward to doing some seaside stuff like swimming and snorkellng for a while. So that's it for episode 3.

Around the world in 80 raves Chapter 6

Hoi An 23rd October 2007

I love Vietnam. I arrived here at this relaxed little town 5 days ago and seem to have entered a kind of timeless zone, the days drift by and by now I'm feeling quite at home here. Hoi An, a dyslexic Hanoi and the complete antidote the latter's hectic pace, is a market town half way down Vietnam, beside a lazy river and only 5km from a long sandy beach.

The market here is the best I've ever come across, so colourful and selling all things imaginable. Fresh fish come in straight from the boats on the river alongside, and the fruit and vegetables are piled high. Hoi An is also the textile centre of the universe, there's a huge fabric market selling silks, taffetas, cottons and linens and the town has in excess of 500 tailor shops where you can get anything from a suit to a wedding dress made in less than 24hrs. A belly dancer's paradise! There are also numerous shoe makers offering the same kind of service with leathers of every colour. Although everything is dirt cheap by western standards it's very easy to get swept along and spend loads of dosh on stuff which you then have to post home because you cann't possibly carry it all. I met an Australian woman with a bit of a shoe fettish who had purshased 15 pairs of handmade shoes in all manner of colours and styles and a Canadian guy who went into a shop for 2 shirts and came away with 10 shirts and 2 suits. I keep telling myself that I just don't need anything but I must admit I have indulged a little.

The town is also famous for it's artists who use laquers of red and gold and yellow and many of the paintings are stunning. And then there are the wood carvers....the list goes on and on. Such talented focused people. It makes us westerners seem pathetic by comparison.

I spent a couple of nights in a hotel overlooking the river with a young German woman that I met on the bus travelling down here. Then I had 3 nights in a budget place that didn't have a lot to recommend it apart from its cheapness. Today I moved to a rather plush place with a swimming pool and lots of perks like free internet and bike loan because I felt I was due a bit of a treat and anyway it's only about 10 euro a night for luxury. I've now got a little routine going biking to the beach with a break for a beer at this beautiful riverside bar half way there.

It's very monsoony here at the moment, with intermittant torrential downpours which I don't find at all unpleasant because the rain is so warm. It's actually quite refreshing and then after a bit the sun comes out again and you get dry. Another one just started now and it's a humdinger, as if god is up there with a ginormous bucket of water. There's lots of girld shrieking and the noise on the roof is so load it's deafening.

Most people here ride bikes though there's loads of small motor bikes too. Many of the kids ride two up on a bike, one on the saddle and one on the luggage rack and they have this great co-operative pedaling technique with both pairs of feet on the pedals. The young girls look fabulous riding to school in the traditional Vietnemese white silk dresses which are their school uniforms.

On the beach today I met a tiny stick of an old lady who was 90 years old selling coconuts and pineapples to the tourists. Her face told a thousand stories and her toothless grin was captivating. What a history she must have lived through. I've been reading a brilliant book here called "When Heaven and Earth changed places" by Ly Le Haslip; a true story of a young woman who lived through the war here and eventually escaped to America. It's a great story of pain, suffering and cruelty but also hope, courage and forgiveness. It's highly recommended reading. I find being in these faraway places really makes me want to find out about history.

So guys, you get the message, come to Vietnam, it's brilliant.

Around the world in 80 raves Chapter 5

Back in Hanoi again for one more night after the Halong Bay trip. I've never been on a tourist tour before in all my 60 years. I've always been a bit of an organised tour snob and considered that tours are for wimps, the unadventurous or old foggies. There's a lot of firsts on this journey and I have to say that this turned out to be a most enjoyable experience, a well earned rest and taste of luxury living after a month of almost constant travel. And it really was the only way open to get a taste of this particular stunning spot on our planet. I was picked up from my hostel by bus and driven with a mixed bunch of characters to Halong harbour, feeling rather apprehensive about the group and whatever might be in store. We arrived at the boat terminal along with loads of other groups, where many of these beautiful looking wooden boats waited to take us all on our cruises. The operation was pretty impressive altogether, masses of groups all with different itineries but the organisation was great, and we were quickly deposited in our correct places and whisked away from the mayhem into this beautiful blue bay dotted with extraordinary lumpy limestone islands. The boat itself was sheer luxury, a cool cabin with ensuite, fridge of drinks, crisp white linen etc. A restaurant where we were served the most delicious delicately presented food by smiley white gloved uniformed waiters and a sundeck above with potted palms for hanging out. It felt like a mini luxury liner; shades of the Titanic maybe, but then as a mist came in there was an image of the ancient mariner sailing into a timeless sea of fog. Next stop a kayaking trip into a crystal clear calm lagoon, a trek round some enormous caves and then back to the boat as it was gwtting dark for a swim in the gorgeously warm sea before supper. The company was a little subdued for my tastes and there was no rousing them for a party. I could hear fun and games drifting over from a few other boats nearby but my lot were all well behaved and early to bed. Oh well ..that's life. I was early to bed too, what else to do, but it did mean I was awake bright and early and got another swim in before breakfast as the sun was coming up. There's more to tell but not now, the night bus to Hoy An is calling and I must away, finish my supper and make a phone call before I leave..... to be continued

Around the world in 80 raves Chapter 4

Hanoi Vietnam 14/10/2007

After another two days of buses and trains I've finally arrived in Vietnam and a completely different mindblowing atmosphere. Getting here was a bit gruelling; a 5 hr bus ride from Dali to Kunming, then an overnight sleeper train to a grotty place called Nanning where I had a 14hr wait. It was so hot and humid there, I was tired as I had not slept much and so I booked into a Hotel for the day. That was 9 euro well spent; I slumped in bed watching the English language Chinese television channel most of the day. The Chinese media certainly project a very limited view of life in China, only the bits that they want the world and the people to know about. Lots of websites are blocked and people are mostly kept in the dark I think. I wandered about a bit and the most interesting experience was the funniest scene going on behind a big shop window on a main street. Inside was a row of blow-up plastic kiddy pools, and in each pool floated a very new born baby wearing a rubber ring round the neck, all looking very relaxed as if they were liking the experience. Around the pool sides sat the proud parents, beaming at their babies and then at the crowd of spectators outside the window.

Eventually it was time to board the next overnight sleeper train the Vietnam border. We had to get off the train at 1am for passport and customs control and to change to another train for Hanoi. We arrived eventually at 7am.

I love it here, it's so vibrant and alive. The difference obvious as soon as I crossed the border; hard to pin-point exactly what, the scenery from the train window was still of peasant farming, rice paddys, but the villages are attractive French colonial style buildings and more pleasing to the eye. Hanoi station was seething with people, but for security I yet again found someone to tag along with, this time an English chap called Steve who teaches English in Thailand and is an old time veteran at South East Asia travel and survival. We haggled a free ride to downtown Hanoi to a guest house on a couple of motor bikes (the drivers get commission for bringing customers to the hotels), and also haggled the price down to around 6 euro for a single room for a night. Handy to have someone who knows the ropes. Big bags hoiked up infront on the Hondas and off we set throungh the most incredible motor bike madness you can imagine. Some streets are so full of motor bikes there is literally no space to walk. Crossing the road is not for the faint-hearted. Even when a pedestrian light is green at a crossing the bikes do not stop coming, you just have to walk and somehow the bikes weave around you and most of the time miraculously collisions are avoided, god knows how. I don't yet have the courage to hire one myself and brave the madness. Three or four up on a bike is common, often mum, dad and a couple of kids. Lots of people wear face masks because of the fumes. Would have liked to see this place a few years ago when it was all push bikes. There's tiny narrow streets of tiny shops, workshops, markets etc. people everywhere selling everything imaginable, cooking, eating, playing games, sleeping painting works of art, on the pavements, in the streets, just everywhere. The nearest thing I can compare it to is the trading area at an enormous festival, but here it's every day. It's much easier to e here than China, the alphabet at least is similar and loads of folk have a smattering of English so you can get information easier. The guesthouse is great, comfy room, restaurant, bar, internet friendly people. I can relax more now.

Tomorrow I'm going to the famous Halong Bay to spend a night and two days on a boat cruising about the bay and to do some swimming and kayaking, all meals and everthing incuded for about 35 euro. Then on Wednesday I'm heading further south to a place called Hue on the coast which is reported to be lovely. And then, who knows, maybe into Laos and by boat up the Mekong to Northern Thailand, or maybe further south and round the bend to Cambodia.

I met a young Norwegian lass at the lake yesterday who is doing some volunteering at a school for handicapped kids here in Hanoi. We got chatting about this and that and the state of the world and all and lastnight she came to my guest house with a Swiss Chap who is also valunteering to take me on a Hanoi pub crawl; a fun night out altogether. Tonight they will come again so we can go eat together.

Life is good and I'm feeling great. Love to you all.