So we’ve finally made it around the world. We are now in a different country, with a different language, with a different culture, and it is quite strange. But we’ll get to that later. First we have to finish our stay in Canada.
We left you at Thursday morning, after a night at the legion. Lucky for us, we don’t ‘have’ to accomplish much, but it is to our advantage to do stuff, and it was definitely to our advantage to visit with Randy. We met him Thursday at the Lennox on Robson to discuss our trip and what we can expect on the teaching side of things, being that Randy used to own a teacher placement organization, and still does consulting. We did a bit of chatting, and then he decided to take us on a tour of the city. So Adam and I rented bikes, Randy got his, and we biked around for the next 3 hours. We saw Stanley Park, downtown, all the development for condos and for the Olympics, and we ate a Vietnamese dinner. Then we went back and discussed some more about Vietnam. Randy helped us build our resumes and told us some of the ways for us to sell ourselves as a team. By the way Randy, thanks a tonne, your help was awesome. Then the night spiralled fast as Mark and Al showed up with some beers. It was awesome to talk with some people who had travelled, and these guys have travelled. It was also good to hear that Al, who has travelled in over 50 countries, like Indo-China the most. So after hearing a lot of stories and getting some advice, we got a lift home from Al, and ‘settled in’ for the night. We had a few things we needed to accomplish on Friday, but we didn’t really do any of them.
We did however, end up finding a party to go to. Sarah, our wonderful hostess, had to work, but we some how managed to get an invite to a party in West Vancouver, which is a pretty expensive and wonderful part of Vancouver. Yuen was kind enough to drive us there, despite her fear of the dark, and it ended up being a great night. Everyone was super nice considering the three of us were really strangers there. Except of course, for the one major coincidence that occurred. That coincidence being that Adam went to high school with one of the guys there, Kevin. Of course meeting anyone from your high school when across Canada is a big deal, but when your high school only has 12 kids per class, it becomes a freak phenomenon.
Saturday consisted of laundry, more nothing, and then getting a few photocopies made at Randy’s. We spent our last night hanging out with Yuen and watching Forrest Gump, which is fairly applicable due to its tie with the Vietnam War. We then went back to Sarah’s to watch Team America, because we had decided to stay up late, hoping that being tired would help us sleep on the plane. So we went to bed at 5 am or so, and Sarah woke us up for breakfast shortly after 7. It was a beautiful day in Vancouver, and breakfast with tea was a great send off. Thanks to Sarah for letting two vagrants squat at her place for a week. It was wonderful. And thanks to Yuen for shuttling around a few times, including a crucial ride to the airport Sunday morning. And with that we were at the airport, getting ready to spend 12 hours on a plane.
One thing we also learned from Al, that I forgot to mention, was that China Airlines is ranked as the second worst airline (I believe that is ranking everything from safety to customer service). This was sort of dis-heartening, but the Boeing 747-400 that we saw didn’t look all that bad. I haven’t been on a plane in a while either, but from I recall this one was no worse, inside or out, from what I had ridden. The plane was not full, which was nice, except that our row of three was full. The row of 3 behind us only had one person, but the airline couldn’t figure out to put the loner in our row back one, to even things out. Oh well. Adam passed out in like 3 seconds, but I had the window seat, so I was content. I was also content when I received a beer and a package of nuts within 10 minutes of take off. Twenty minutes later we got lunch and a glass of wine. That was enough to make me sleep. So for the next 4 hours, maybe 5, both of us slept quite well, only to be awaken for dinner. I believe we stayed up and read for a while, then tried to sleep again, only to find out we were preparing for descent. It’s amazing how fast a 12 hour plane ride can pass. Some of the views from the plane were cool. The coastal mountains of BC were really nice, and seeing the odd island in the middle of the ocean was cool too, other than that it was pretty repetitive.
So we land in Taipei, expecting to be forced to sleep in the airport, since Al (again) informed us that you can’t leave the airport in Taiwan without a visa. Luckily for us, Julie Hazekamp, our travel agent, fandangled the airline into putting us up in a hotel for the night. There was a lady waiting for us in the lobby who directed us to a stop where we were picked up in a shuttle, and driven to the Miramar Golf and Country Club in the back hills of Taiwan. It was a 25 minute drive, through a valley community, and all of a sudden we see this massive hotel, with a 36 hole golf course, sitting in amongst some rolling hills. Turns out this is the number one golf club in Taiwan, and was designed by Jack Nicklaus. We had a very nice room, a complimentary dinner, and access to a sauna, steam room, hot tub for our leisure. It was awesome. I’m not a connoisseur of hotels, but this was at least a 4 star hotel. I passed out by 7:30, which was a super idea, and made me feel at least somewhat human when the 5 am wake up call came.
The Vietnam Airlines plane we took was an Airbus A321, and looked really new. It also was not packed. The stewardesses were dressed in what looks like traditional clothes, quite different than the uniforms on north American flights. And the meal they served us was spectacular. Only being a 2 and a half our flight, it was over in no time. As we’re landing, the pilot updates us about Hanoi, mainly that it is 9:30 am, and 29 degrees. Our time in the airport was brief. We had no problems with immigration, and our bags were among to first to show up. It would have been nice to stay in the air conditioning for a while though. As soon as the doors opened we were blasted with humidity. Hanoi is 35 km from the airport, so we had to get a ride. We decided to take a mini-bus, which is a van the size of a mini-van in NA, but has 4 rows of benches, basically cramming us in like sardines. We had to wait for it to fill up, which meant we had about 10 people at least in there. Luckily it had air-con, but only vents in the front, so the back depends on air flow, which doesn’t really happen. So we begin our trek into town, and everyone in that van must have thought we were lunatics. Everything was so foreign, so we were smiling and giggling at everything that happens. The first thing to mention is that the highway we took is apparently on of the most sophisticated roads in Vietnam. And it is not sophisticated. It is four lanes, with a ‘shoulder’ of sorts. There are people walking along the road, we saw a couple cows as well, there are motos (note: they are more of a cross between a motorbike and a moped) everywhere, vans like ours, and big trucks, all bargaining to each other for road space via honking. Seriously, I have never heard horns used as much as you hear them here. Every 5 seconds there is a honk. It’s like their second language. So the motos seem to be the most versatile vehicle. They are literally everywhere. Sometimes they have one rider, sometimes 2, sometimes 3, and I’ve seen 1 or 2 loaded up with 4 people. I’ve also seen a cage of dead chickens, a stack of probably 100 dozen eggs or more, and an array of furniture, groceries and other items stacked precariously on the back of these things, all weaving and honking in traffic like no big deal. The Vietnamese are the best drivers ever. It is actually illegal in some parts of the country for foreigners to drive motos, or at all for that matter, because it is too dangerous and they get in accidents all the time. Even crossing the road is dangerous. It’s a constant barrage of vehicles coming toward you. The way to get across is to go slowly so that they can see you, and they will weave around you. Only make predictable movements, and keep an eye open both ways, and you should make it. So far we’ve been successful.
Now, back to the adventure. We finally make it into the old quarter, and our driver’s assistant asks where we want to go, we say the Prince Hotel. When we arrive, the ‘owner’ says its full, but he knows a great place. So he takes us to the Quang Vinh Hotel. They hook us up with a room and so we’re settled, kind of. We have no clue what to do, so we chilled out (literally because the room had air-con). Soon after, the rains come. It was our first experience of the rainy season. And it rained, and rained for 2 hours, heavy. The streets flooded, the sidewalks flooded. Everyone stops what they’re doing, sits under an awning, and waits until it subsides. Then the hustle begins again. We ate some food, and took a nap, and got ready for the night, knowing that we wanted some great food for dinner, and some Bia Hoi, the draft beer that costs about 13 cents a glass. With our lonely planet in hand, we head towards the Tamarind café for dinner. It’s a vegetarian café, definitely oriented to white tourists, because it’s quite expensive for Hanoi standards, and very clean and showy. It also had incredible food, and great smoothies. It took us about an hour longer than it should have to get there. We took a left, instead of a right, and had no clue where we were for quite a while. Eventually we sorted it out and followed the Hoan Kiem lake, toward our destination. We also found the shoe district. There was about 3 or 4 city blocks, with little shoe stores on both sides, loaded up with shoes. Every kind you can imagine, in every style. It was ludicrous. They are really cheap too, about 25 USD for a good pair of runners. Past the shoe stores and around a corner we found the café. Dinner was great, and cost 250, 000 dong, or approx. 16 USD. It was a lavish feast as well, complete with appetizers and smoothies. Afterward we strolled around another bend and found ourselves at the ultimate destination for any Ha Noi traveller, Bia Hoi corner. A hotbed for westerners and Vietnamese alike, Bia Hoi corner is a tiny intersection in the heart of the Old Quarter that boasts no less than 4 ‘fresh beer’ stands within 20 paces of each other. It’s amazing that traffic even passes through here, but it does. People spill onto the streets as they sit on tiny plastic children’s chairs and sip the local brew for pennies a glass. As far as my travels have shown me, it’s one of the world’s most wonderful places, another of the numerous 8th wonders of the world. So we drank, maybe 8 beers apiece and chatted with Dan, a tour guide in Indochina, and his tourists, Sarah and Katie, from the US, and Victoria, a Scot. When we left we paid the tab, 20,000 dong, or a buck and a quarter for the 5 beers we each had there. We strolled to the next stand and indulged again, having 3 more beers, at the same price, and meeting a couple of Welsh girls who were about to begin teaching as well. It was nice to have a conversation with people that understand you fully, as well as not break the bank on drinks. That night we arrived back at the hotel at midnight, or shortly after, to find the large metal security door outfront closed for the night. Yes that’s right the hotel closes for the night at 12, a makeshift curfew of sorts. We would find out why shortly. As we stood wondering what to do, one of the hotel staff wheeled up on the back of a moto and thankfully let us in. What timing! As we walked through the lobby we saw the reason for closure, some of the staff, obviously a family run venture, were sleeping on cots in the middle of the room. We sneaked by and went to bed.
The next day we decided, after talking to Dan the night before, to switch hotels. We moved closer to Bia Hoi and also cut our nightly bills from 12 USD to 8. This meant that the budget allowed for 10 more beers, per night! Later that day, after getting settled into our new ‘penthouse’ room at the Prince Café Hotel, we went and registered ourselves with the Canadian embassy. We spent the better part of an hour there, using the phone and computer and enjoying the AC after our long walk. On the way back to the hotel we checked out some shops and picked up a DVD for 15,000 dong, or one dollar. After a cheap dinner across the street from the hotel we put the movie on the laptop. About a half hour in, the laptop died. We would find out in the morning that voltage supply here is shaky at best and sometimes electronics fail due to a break in power. So from now on we’ll have to expect the worst with the computer and save these blog updates diligently when writing them with MS word.
Today, Sep 7, we have a few errands to run around town. What we thought might be a quiet day in the city might turn out not to be so as I direct your attention to this breaking news…
****NEWSFLASH**** SPECIAL BULLETIN
Adam and Brandon have found jobs. The thought of living in Hanoi is over. It appears that the two hopeful teachers will be making the 33 hour train ride down to Ho Chi Minh City for training, and will then be transported to Vung Tau where they will be teachers with the International Language Academy of Vietnam (ILA). Their good fortune began September 6th with an e-mail to ILA in response to a job posting on the internet. Within four hours of that e-mail, a reply was sent with details about the company, the jobs, and the process of application. At 7:30 that night a phone interview was conducted in the foyer of the Prince Café Hotel, with very positive vibes. Jake, the interviewer, sounded very pleased, and promised a phone call for noon on the 7th with a decision and further details about the jobs. At 12:13 the phone call was received, and by the end of the ten minute conversation, arrangements were made for training in Ho Chi Minh City for the weekend, and placements to begin on September 15th. The two travelers will now need to secure train tickets to Ho Chi Minh, and wrap up any loose ends before departing on the 8th. The train ride will be a 33 hour trip by train, and will cover almost 90% of the countries length. They will be put up in an air-con room, which will have 4 soft beds. The stay in the Old Quarter of Hanoi has been great, and hopefully the south of Vietnam will serve the two travelers just as well. Good bye for now.
P.S there are some new photos up, so follow the link in the “pictures at last” post to see ‘em.
