Yangon, Myanmar

The nicest people in South East Asia can be found in Myanmar. I’ve never come across a country with so many friendly people. After a 2 year break from writing and traveling, I find myself on the road again. I’m here in Yangon largely because it’s one of the only countries I’ve not been to in Asia and yes, I’m keeping score.

Yangon is the largest city in Myanmar and I didn’t do much here, mostly I planned the rest of my trip and acclimated to this new (to me), wonderful, strange, country. 

I did manage to find the only Indian Pizza I’ve ever had outside of San Francisco.  And checked out a temple or two. 

There is a lot of outdated information about Myanmar on the internet. Especially where currency and ATMs are concerned. You should bring some US dollars for emergency money, but there is no need to bring all the money you think you will need for your trip. There were ATMs in every city I was in, Yangon, Inle Lake, Bagan, and Mandalay.  There is a max of about $300 per withdrawal.  Ensure that you sell all your Kyat before leaving unless you plan to use it as Monopoly money.

Cambodia

I was in Anchor Wat in 2009, so I skipped it on this trip. I spent a few days in the Capitol, Phnom Penh, and then headed to the beach. Phnom Penh is pretty meh. The thing that made me crazy was that there was garbage piled up in the streets as if the garbage collectors were on strike. In some places, it was 3 meters high. Talk about a disease vector!

I stayed at Otres 2 beach in Sihounikville for a few nights. It is pretty chill, and the water is excellent for swimming. After riding a bike for 5 weeks, it was just what I needed to relax. I spent a day on a long-tail boat doing some snorkeling. I’d not recommend it. After the Philippines, the snorkeling in Vietnam and Cambodia was disappointing. The best thing about Otres 2 is that it is not overdeveloped yet, and there are almost no hawkers!  It was swim, read, sun, eat and repeat!

Then I took a boat to Koh Rong. From what I heard from others and read, this island is one of the last undeveloped islands in Cambodia. I booked a room for five nights. It was just OK for me. It’s a very social island. Most everyone is concentrated in one place. The only locals are those who work/live there. it’s basically a backpacker island with primarily western food. The issue with all the beaches I’ve seen in Cambodia and Vietnam is the trash on the beaches. Koh Rong is no exception. Most of Asia seems to treat the ocean as its own personal dump and much of it turns up on the beaches. This makes me ill, having grown up in beach culture, where no one would throw trash in the ocean. 

I spent a night in downtown Sihanoukville, so I could quickly jump on the bus to Phnom Pehn to catch my plane to Bangkok. It’s not a nice place, full of young people partying their ass’s off and super overdeveloped and commercial. Sorry Cambodia, but you did not make my list of places I would like to live.

Da Lat and Saigon

It is a short ride from Nha Trang to Da Lat and a beautiful one. I spent a few hours driving through the mountains and had a welcome respite from the heat. Da Lat is a slowly crumbling French mountain town that just happens to be in Vietnam. I am told much of it resembles Paris. But since I have not been to Paris, I could not say. I stayed in Da Lat for two nights, which was pretty chill. I took a walk around the lake and went to the Flower Gardens. De Lat is famous for its flowers, which it exports worldwide. It has a climate similar to Napa, so they grow grapes and make wine. Sadly I did not try the wine.

After I got out of the mountains and was headed for Saigon, the towns started to meld together, and soon the road turned into one long town with no green space. I started early, as it was a long riding day, and arrived in Saigon at my hostel in the middle of the afternoon. Thanks to the help of my trusty GPS app, I did not get lost once! I’d been to Saigon for a few days in 2009, but I was a tourist and only saw a small part of the city.

On the drive-in, I started losing my cool with the other folks on the road. My “irritation with other drivers” meter was in the red! I had considered selling my bike in Saigon and taking the bus through Cambodia. Getting highly irritated was the like seeing a neon light saying, “sell!”  I can not drive safely once I start getting too irritated. I start taking chances, going too fast, and I become a road hazard, which is challenging in Vietnam.

The next day I wrote my for-sale ad and posted it on various online classified sites including Craigslist. And I waited. And waited some more. Five days later, the only responses I received were from people who could not read my clearly written ad and thought I was in Hanoi. I started getting nervous. Should I lower the price? Should I try to find a charity to give away my expensive toy to? Should I stop thinking about how much money I’ll lose if I don’t sell the bike and have ice cream? Yes! And what an ice cream it was. There’s a french ice cream shop in Saigon that turns ice cream into art.

On the 6th day, I got a bite, and another, and a third! An American Expat was going to come by after work, and then a French guy wanted to come by earlier. I let the American guy know he’d have to get here sooner if we wanted a shot. The American called first, after all. The French guy showed up, gave the bike a once over, took it for a ride, and said he wanted to buy it, but that he had to go get the money. I said yes. Then the American showed up with cash. I took his cash and called the French guy and gave him the bad news. Since I did not ride as long as I had planned, I ended up paying about what I would have for a rental after I took a loss selling the bike. Maybe I could have got more, but a week in Saigon was enough.

I did have some good times in Saigon. I made a Vietnamese friend in Hanoi, and she lives in Saigon. We spent a Saturday afternoon together, eating, riding around on her scooter, and had a nice walk. When we met, she was interviewing with the Italian embassy for a visa, which they granted her. After we hung out, she had to go out of town on business and then flew to Italy. Yen, I hope you had a great time in Italy, if you are still reading my blog, drop me an email, I only have your mobile number.

The night I sold my bike, I went out and celebrated. An Argentine steak house serves steak from Australia and the US. So I dropped about 1.5 million dong ($70) on dinner and drinks. I sat at the bar and hit it off with the bartenders. After I ordered my first drink, they started making me custom drinks, and after dinner, they poured me shots of homemade caramel vodka on the house. It was the first time I had steak in months. I decided to do one touristy thing, and on my last day, I went to the former US embassy. It was a neat building. It’s easy to forget that Vietnam is a communist country, then sometimes you remember. 

Seven weeks is the longest I’ve spent in one country outside the US, with the exception of Italy, when I was teaching and taking classes there in the late ’90s. It was great to see a country from top to bottom and go places most westerners will never see. I love traveling off the beaten trail, and on this trip, there were times when I was off the trail altogether. Vietnam, specifically Saigon, is a place I could live.

Holy Big Ass Cave!

I have been in a lot of caves. All the major ones in the US and a bunch of others around the world. Thien Duong Cave, better known as Paradise Cave, is 31 km long! Tourists can venture in for the first 1.5 km. This part of the cave has a considerable walkway, and great lighting, the designers of the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park have done a phenomenal job. It’s the best national park infrastructure I’ve seen anyplace in Asia.

They let about ten people a day on a guided trek that goes 7 km into the cave. I was fortunate enough to get a slot. There were only 3 of us! We had an English-speaking guide and a porter. The cave complex is fantastic! There are places inside that feel like a stadium. There are also parts you have to swim through and some tight pass-throughs. And, of course, stalagmites and stalactites galore.

Before starting, they gave us camo uniforms and running shoes to change into. Of the three of us, I was the only one who could fit into the camo, and no one could fit into the shoes. They are not set up for western tourists. The cave was discovered by a local man in 2005. They have been doing tours of it for three years. My advice is to go now. It’s hard to say what it will be like in a decade. The only downside is that it’s costy. 2,600,000 dong ($130).

We started by going through a gate the tourists never get past and walked about 1/4 km. Then the guide had us turn out our lights, and we were in pitch darkness, and there were no sounds at all. It was very cool. If I had my way, I’d set up a rope that could be followed so you could do the whole trek in complete darkness. Though I’m not sure, there are enough weirdos like me to market it to.

We continued for about 3 km and stopped to take everything off but foot gear and swimwear. The wet parts were coming. There’s a strange cultural disconnect for me with the modesty involved. The guides used underwear for swimwear. I guess what happens in the cave stays in the cave.

It was me, an Aussie riding a bicycle through SEA, and a girl from Northern Europe, and when we got in the water, the Aussie was a bit shocked by the temp. I’ve swum in caves before, but not for this long. After walking past all sorts of fascinating formations and getting detailed explanations of how they form, we arrived at our stopping point for lunch. At the 7 km mark, the cave is open to the sky.

It was breathtaking to come around the corner and see daylight shining down on a little valley in the cave. We found a big rock to have lunch on. Lunch was crap, rice, a few pieces of nondescript meat, and an over-ripe banana. After lunch, we went exploring and swimming. There was a shaft of like shining down on a bolder, way up on a ledge. Of course, I had to climb up there and bask in the light.

The trip back was a rocket run. I kept stopping to take more pictures, and the guides tried to hurry us along, which inspired me to take even more pictures. I do not think the guide said two sentences on the way out. The cave is stunning, and it is a must-do if you are anywhere near the central\northern coast of Vietnam!

The Final Frontier

I just spent four days riding through the Ha Giong area. It’s what the guidebooks call Vietnam’s final frontier. It has a lot of historical value as Ho Chi Minh spent a bunch of time there; it was a safe haven, and it’s on the border with China. You have to buy a permit to enter the area.

Between my off-road adventure the other day all through the mountains in the frontier area, the views were stunning. The limestone mountains and the roads rising and descending through them made for the best views on this trip.

I met a Canadian, Justin, traveling by motorbike through the north. He had a six-day rental, and we decided to travel together for a few days. Justin was the first westerner I met traveling by motorcycle in Vietnam. While I’ve found many people writing about riding in Vietnam, I’ve only come across a handful of people, and I’ve yet to meet anyone outside of Hanoi who is doing what I’m doing, who bought a bike to see the whole country on.

We stayed two nights in Dong Van, the northernmost city, and trekked for a day. It was nice to get off the bike for a day. The trekking was great. We found an old French fort overlooking Dong Van and then hiked up into the mountains on a random 10k hike. We met some nice guys who invited us in for tea.

The next day, I took the scenic route through the rest of the province and Justin made a B-line for Ba Be Lake. I ended up being off road again for much of the day. Justin got lost and didn’t make it to Ba Be until the following day.

I went to the local Yamaha shop to buy motor oil, and the owner kept giving me tea and shots of rice whiskey. I think I had shots with half the town. I could barely walk.

Today I Was a Motorcycle God!

Today it took me 7 hours to travel 125 kilometers. Most of that time was spent going 50 kilometers on a single-track road, ok, trail, through the backcountry. It was the most challenging day I have ever had on a motorcycle in 15 years of riding, and I’ve ridden cross country in the US twice and been as far as the end of the Pan Am in Panama.

Today’s ride had the best scenery I’ve seen on the trip. I was riding ridgelines, doing hill climbs, and did more river crossings than you could shake a stick at. At one point, about 30 K in, I came to a river crossing that started with 30 meters of boulders doing downhill. It was very intimidating. I did not get any points for style, but I made it through!

If fact I was up to every challenge the route threw at me. If I had known how difficult that route would be, I would not have taken it. It was not any shorter and it did not save me any time, it just seemed more exciting and I’m so glad I did it!

I have a confession to make, I have very little experience riding off-road, and all of the off-road riding I’ve done was on a BMW K1100RS, a 120HP superbike designed for sport/touring. In 1995 I went on the BMW Paris, Paris to Panama endurance rally. There were 120 riders, and we had a fleet of Land Cruisers supporting us. Our route was scouted and mapped, our meals and accommodations were all arranged, and the off-road riding we did was not that challenging.

There is a huge differece between riding a 120 HP motorcycle that weighs 300 kilos and a little 10 HP bike that weighs 120 kilos. You really do not want to stall on a hill climb on a slippery slope with that little bike. It just doesn’t have the torque to recover, especially while sliding downhill, backwards. But recover I did!

I highly recommend taking the scenic route from Vihn Quang to Ha Giang, but have a modicum of self-preservation and do not do it alone! If you want the details of the route, leave me a comment or send me an email, and I’ll get them to you.

It is hard to describe the feeling of accomplishment I reaped for today’s adventure! It has been quite some time since I have pushed my limits as far as I have today, and it was a huge confidence builder. The great thing about an accomplishment like this is that it increases overall confidence and builds self-respect. I’m tired, sore, and exhausted. “Today, I was a motorcycle god!”

More Adventures on Two Wheels in Northwestern Vietnam

The second day on my new bike brought me to Than Uyen. It’s a good thing I ended up going back to Hanoi. If I’d continued from Son La directly to Than Uyen, as I had planned, I would have ended up at a road that stops at a river and no bridge! I might have been able to hire someone with a boat to transport me, but luckily I did not have to deal with that.

Not much to say about Than Uyen, it’s a town on the way to someplace else. My next stop was Sapa. Holy overtouristed batman! This is the number one tourist destination in the north. I stayed there for a night and got out of there. There is an “ethnic” village just outside of town, which should be avoided. Sapa should be avoided as well unless you need a “people speak English” fix.

That leads us to a destination I was excited about, Can Cau. It’s an ethnic village that is hard to get to and has a market on Saturday. The drive from Sapa was not good, the road was soaked, and it was treacherous riding. At one point, I had a corner slideout, and the bike and I went down. There were no injuries to either of us, but my ankle was sore. I was delayed by the weather and did not arrive until 11 am. The place was filled with tourists and minibusses, which is hard to believe considering how bad the road was. It was a letdown, but that’s the way of things sometimes. I returned to Bac Hac and got a room for the night.

Bac Ha is called “little Sapa” because they are trying to build up their tourist industry there. What I found there were helpful locals outside of the tourist area and predatory tourist bilkers in the tourist area. Not my favorite town. There is a Sunday market in Bac Ha, but it is known to be over touristed, so I just got out of there in the morning.

I made a run through the Bac Ha to Xin Man route, a rocky trail through the mountains that saved about 300 kilometers of travel time. I’d heard bad things about this road, but it wasn’t so bad. Sure there were some intimidating hill climbs, and the whole road was “paved” with rocks stuck out of the ground a few inches. I took a wrong turn in the morning and went 20 K on the wrong road. I knew I was going the wrong way, but it was so beautiful I just kept going. I stopped short of the Chinese border and turned around, then took a shortcut to where I was supposed to be.

I spent that night in Xin Man, and today I drove to the Pan Hau Ecolodge, a resort that’s very pricy for a budget traveler, but I needed some rest, so I took a splurge day. It’s a very relaxing atmosphere. I arrived too late for lunch, so I took a ride a couple of K’s back to find some food, all I could find was ramen, so I brought it back, and the cooks prepared it for me and through in some veggies!

Wandering Through Northwest Vietnam

It took me five days to decide on a motorcycle. I ended up with a 2009 Yamaha YBR 125G. It cost me a bit more than twice what I thought I would spend. My research was based on what I could find on the web: advice from folks on a very low budget. I’m also on a low budget, but I don’t care how much a bike costs, I care how much I can sell it for, how reliable it is and how comfortable it is.

I arrived at Pom Coong Village in Mai Chau on my first day. It took me a few hours longer than I thought, but my trusty GPS app got me out of Hanoi without any issues. I did a homestay there, and it was great. It included diner and breakfast; it was the best and biggest dinner I’ve had in Vietnam.

On my second day, I drove to Son La, it was a nice drive through the mountains, and in the first hour, the fog was as thick as pea soup. My bike is losing power under load at high revs, so I will get a new air filter and check the gas filter. I’ll probably drain the float bowl to ensure no water is in it. Son La does not have much to offer. It’s just a place to stop for the night. I could have easily continued to my next stop today, but I have some time to kill as I’m planning on getting to the Sapa area on Friday night so I can check out the untouristed weekend markets on Saturday and Sunday. These markets are off the beaten track and should be an excellent opportunity to see and interact with some Vietnamese Ethnic folks.

On day three, I figured out that my bike was burning a half liter of oil every 100km, and I was only getting 25 KPL (Kilometers Per Liter). I called the folks I bought the bike from, and they agreed to get another one ready for me. On the way back, the electrical system died, and one of the instrument pods fell off.

I’m back on the road again today after a night in Hanoi. My new (to me) bike seems much better. I’m happy I was dealing with someone who stood behind what they sold. Or I would have been out quite a bit of cash.

This evening I’m in Nghia La, I had a great day riding, and there were some fantastic views. Every day I see more and more ethnic folks and fewer tourists. I did not see one westerner once I got out of Hanoi this morning. I like riding in Vietnam. Riding in Central America in 1995 ruined riding in the US for me. I stopped riding for about 11 years. You can set your level of risk here and choose which rules to follow. Just the way I like it. Since none of the people I know now ever knew me riding a bike, you don’t need to fear for my safety. As I’ve said before, I’m much safer on a bike than in a car. That still holds.

Vietnam Makes Me Smile

I am so happy to be in Vietnam! Hanoi is a great city for tourists, the food is great, there is no shortage of things to do, and the scenery is fantastic. After the bland food in the Philippines, I was ready for Vietnamese food!

Being in the Philippines is like living in a black-and-white world, and Vietnam is in full color. Other than almost everyone speaking English in the Philippines, Vietnam is better in every way.

I was in Hanoi in 2009, traveling with my girlfriend. We loved Vietnam, and I am happy to be back. Last time I was here for less than ten days, and this time I will be in Vietnam for a month minimum. I was still sick when I arrived and took it easy for the first few days, and then I finally went to see a doctor. He said my ear was still infected and gave me some antibiotics.

A cousin of a friend, of a friend, of a friend, took me around to look at motorbikes, but since I didn’t know what I wanted, I have no Vietnamese, and he had no English, not much was accomplished. I was invited back to meet the family and was surprised with lunch. I a couple of his sisters spoke English and we had a great afternoon. It’s one of the best experiences I’ve ever had while traveling. The food was unfamiliar and intimidating, but it was all tasty. They even broke out the dried squid, which I understand is quite expensive. I’ve always been afraid to try it because of the strong fishy smell. It was tasty as hell.

Diving, Camping and Antibiotics

I was happy to arrive in Coron Town but not so excited about the 30 hours of travel it took to get here. The day after I arrived, I started my Advanced Open Water diving class, which is 5 dives in two days, which turned out to be a bit much for my body. The diving was great, and they included some basics as I had not been diving in 15 years. The first day was elementary. We worked on buoyancy and navigation skills. The second day was intense. I did three wreck dives, which encompassed the skills needed to pass the course, deep diving, wreck diving, and an enriched air dive. I was worn out at the end of the day. Unfortunately, that night I started to get a cough, a sore throat, and my ears hurt.

All three of the dives included penetrations, which in theory, you are not supposed to do until you take the entire wreck diving course. But here in Coron, anyone with an open water cert can go on a wreck dive and do penetrations, hmm, come to think of it, no one asked to see my PADI card. Penetrating a wreck means going inside it, which can be pretty dangerous. It was an amazing experience, but I will be taking some time off from diving. I have an inner ear infection and what feels like the flu.

Coron is not as sleepy as I thought it would be, they lengthened the runway at the airport a few years ago, and now 80-seat planes can land here, which has created rapid expansion and all the bad things that go with it. There are power blackouts every day, which the locals call “brownouts.” The night I arrived, candles lighted half the town. Food and accommodations are expensive here, compared to other parts of the Philippines and the Philippines is more expensive than anywhere else I have been in SEA. I also went on an “exhibition” which is island hopping, camping, and snorkeling. It was a bunch of guys teaching English in Korea and me.

The trip was fun, but based on the description of the trip I was expecting something more remote, I don’t think it was worth the money I paid for it.

I ended up being sick for eight days in Coron. Overall, it’s not my favorite country and I love the people, Goodbye Philippines.