Mark's Month of Wandering

Laos Again...

After a sad farewell with Sarah and Lindsay in Hanoi, I hopped on a bus bound for Laos to fulfill my dreams of living off the land. I had stayed in contact with a farm we had visited while traveling in the Bolavaen Plateau (See prior entry on Southern Laos) and decided to spend a month volunteering with them.

Having spent several days in the chaotic, motorbike clogged streets of Hanoi I felt an immediate sense of serenity upon my arrival back in Laos. En route to the farm I decided to check out the massive Thonglor Cave which is nearly 8km long. I spent a couple days in the area exploring via a boat and hiking around the beautiful environs. While here I also had the opportunity to stay with a sweet family who provided me with copious amounts of sticky rice and a comfortable bed to rest my head.

The family I stayed with while in Thonglor

After a couple days of caving, I undertook a long day of travel which involved multiple rides in the back of trucks and on the floor of buses to finally arrive to the Tha Theng Organic Farm. The Farm serves as a model of organic agricultural practices and is used as an educational tool for local farmers who increasingly clear cut forest and apply excessive amounts of pesticides. The Farm is maintained by seven young Laotians who are recent graduates from various agricultural school within Laos and is managed and funded by a Lao based environmental NGO.

My experience on the farm proved to be far beyond my expectations. Upon my arrival I was immediate put to use as human ladder, picking various fruits from places the average Laotian would find impossible to reach. My work also entailed such activities as watering vegetable beds, weeding coffee plants, making compost, and feeding goats. When I was not busy getting dirt under my fingernails I was gorging on sticky rice and a bounty of fresh picked fruits and veggies. In addition I learned a wealth of knowledge about organic farming techniques as well as the medicinal properties of virtually every plant I encountered. While the amount of English spoken by the people on the farm was minimal, they were extremely friendly and welcoming, and I quickly settled into the idyllic agrarian lifestyle I had dreamed of.

Serving as a human ladder by picking down some papaya

Making Compost

Watering some veggies

Heading out on the tractor

Lunchtime!

Me and the Farm Crew

Unfortunately, after a week this dream came to an end. The local “authorities” stopped by the farm and requested to see my passport. After seeing that I only had a tourist Visa, yet was volunteering they threatened to confiscate my passport unless I paid an exorbitant bribe to them. After paying the scumbags the informed me that I continued to volunteer at the farm they would make further visits and no doubt request additional under-the-table payments. The next day I vacated the farm, and while I was extremely disappointed to leave, the wonderful experiences I had on the farm will not soon be forgotten.

Bound for Bangkok

After my abrupt departure from the farm, I spent a couple days trying to figure out what to do and where to go. Fortunately I was able to get in contact with a college friend (Taj) who lives in Bangkok, and before long I was on a bus to Thailand. I spent about five days with Taj exploring the crazy world of Bangkok and sampling an array of delicious foods. I was also able to witness the celebration of King's 83^rd Birthday in which thousands of people crowded the streets lighting lanterns and shooting off fireworks in his honor. While a sharp transition from my previous week living off the land in Laos, I had a great exploring a new city and catching up with an old friend.

Local Bangkonians having their fortunes read

Dim Sum!

Taj and I hit the Beach

One Last Stop in Laos

But before long I was on the road, heading yet again back to Laos. This time en route to Saigon for my flight back to the US. As I had about a week left before my flight I decided to visit a fellow volunteer I had befriended while at the organic farm. Saman, a Sri Lankan, who works for a NGO educating farmers about effective organic pest management techniques, invited me to visit the Northern Lao province of Xieng Khaun where he was temporarily working. I spent several days living with him and accompanying him with such daily activities as purchasing rice at the market, cooking Sri Lankan curries, and providing technical assistance to local farmers. While I was visiting, Xieng Khaun happened to be hosting a nationwide sporting event. It seemed to be the Lao equivalent of the Olympics, however the sports consisted of: kickboxing, a game with tops, crossbow-archery, and a weird form of hackey sack. I took the opportunity to take in several kickboxing bouts during my stay.

Saman Making Sri Lankan Curry

Saman and I (notice the slight height differential)

Lao Kickboxing

Heading Home

After one last border crossing into Vietnam I headed south to catch my flight in Saigon. During my last couple days I soaked up the balmy weather and downed as many bowls of Pho as possible. It was a month of wandering, but filled with enumerable great experiences.

One Final Bowl of Pho

Hanoi

We visited Hanoi on two occasions, once before going to Halong Bay and once upon our return from Sapa. Our first impressions were that Hanoi was similar to Saigon (yes, it can rival Saigon's crazy traffic), but with an older feel to it-narrow street and plenty of lakes. On our first visit we strolled around the lake in the Old Quarter and made sure to sample the Pho.

Beside the lake in the Old Quarter















Parents on motor bikes waiting to pick up their kids after school

On our return from Sapa we got the chance to visit some of the tourist destinations in the city. The museum of ethnology was a highlight. The museum provided information about all of the cultural traditions of the numerous ethnic groups in Vietnam and included approximately 10 full scale models of traditional houses of these groups on the grounds of the museum.

We also paid a visit to the Hao Lo Prison (aka the "Hanoi Hilton"). The prison was built by the French and held Vietnamese communist soldiers from the early 1900s through the 1950s. The prison later became the location where American pilots who crashed in northern Vietnam were held as POWs during the Vietnam War. The most famous of these prisoners was John McCain. The museum displayed McCain's uniform and gear that were recovered off of him when his plane crashed in the West Lake in Hanoi. Not surprisingly (though to our frustration) the museum painted the American POWs imprisonment here as a fun-filled walk in the park providing photographs of inmates playing sports and games and celebrating Christmas.



















Me in front of the Hanoi Hilton


We also walked through the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex, which includes the humble three room house on stilts that Ho allegedly lived and worked in during his leadership.

Ho Chi Minh's House on Stilts

Sadly we couldn't see Ho's embalmed corpse in the mausoleum, as it was in Russia at the time getting some touch ups :) I would like to note that Hanoi and Vietnam LOVE Ho Chi Minh. There were tons of billboards with his face and many residence's have portraits of him hanging on the wall.

Billboard with Ho Chi Minh




















Another billboard

We also visited some temples and pagodas, including the Temple of Literature. The Temple of Literature is dedicated to Confucius and is considered the first university in Vietnam, dating from the 11th Century. Of course we also ate lots of street food! Below: Mark getting a tea on a tiny stool



















Sadly Hanoi is where the journey ended for Sarah and I. On our last night together we went to a traditional water puppet performance (both entertaining and very bizarre). Sarah left the following morning for a brief visit with a friend in Hong Kong before returning to the Chicago area. I left that evening on a 30 hour trip back to Boston. Mark, however, has decided to extend his Southeast Asian journey and hopped on a 15 + hour bus back to Laos where he got his hands dirty (and his belly full of sticky rice) on a farm for a week in the southern part of the country.

It was really hard for us all to say good bye and to even imagine being alone (we have spent everyday together for the past 4 months!) but we had a wonderful trip and are excited to see what life brings upon our return to the US.

And if anyone out there is planning a trip to Southeast Asia, please email any of us-we would love to provide any insight we can! Thanks so much for following the blog, I hope you have enjoyed it!

Sapa

Sapa is a gorgeous mountain village located in the far northern reaches of Vietnam, kilometers away from the border with China. Sapa is most famously known for the numerous ethnic villages located around it, in which many of the people still don traditional wear and live traditional lifestyles. We arrived in Sapa after taking an overnight train up from Hanoi. The train was a welcome and more comfortable change from the usual overnight buses (which often left us sore and grumpy in the morning). We spent a day exploring Sapa-Mark and Sarah went to visit a neighboring village near by, while I did a bit of shopping in the local market. We also hiked up to a nice viewpoint in the town (see photo below of Mark and Sarah)

Mark on the streets of Sapa

In the afternoon we booked a hiking tour and we were off hiking the next day! Our guide was a wonderful 17 year old Hmong woman named Mo who spoke nearly perfect English. We were accompanied on the trek by two Danish women as well, Maria and Seena. Since Sapa is up in the mountains, everyone terraces the land for rice paddies. The technique makes for an absolutely stunning landscape. We were lucky and had two clear days hiking across the mountains and had breathtaking views of the rice fields.

The crew-Mo in front, Sarah in pink and Lindsay right behind Sarah

Halong Bay

Halong Bay

Halong Bay is a bay off the northern coast of Vietnam well known for the thousands of limestone karsts that dramatically rise out of the waters. Here we arranged to stay one night on a small boat with about 12 other people before spending a few nights on one of the islands in the bay, Cat Ba island.

Mark on our boat, "Asia Cruise"

The view from the roof of our "junk"

Sarah and Mark soaking up some rays on the roof of the boat

After a night on the boat we disembarked on Cat Ba island and booked a hotel by the waterfront. While the night on the boat was wonderful, we were thrilled to spend a couple nights on an island on our own, since the boat trips through the bay turned out to be one of the most touristy ventures we have experienced thus far in our four months.

The view from our hotel window

The first day we spent on a beach called Cat Co 2 a ten minute walk from our hotel. The beach was one of the most beautiful that we had been to on our trip.

Siblings!

Sarah coming out of the water

While on Cat Ba we also took a day long kayaking trip through the islands. It was a beautiful trip that included venturing into a small cave, paddling past oyster farms and stopping to see some some giant fish in a fish farm. We stopped to eat lunch and hang out on two small beaches amidst the islands. When we got back to the docks our arms were like jello (or at least mine were), but it was well worth it.

Sunset

Central Vietnam

Hoi An

Our time in Hoi An was comprised primarily with shopping and eating. With only a population of around 80,000 Hoi An was one of the smaller towns we visited in Vietnam. While lacking in population it was rich in history, culture, food and, as we quickly discovered tailors. In fact there are over 500 tailor shops in this town, making it virtually impossible to walk down a street without a tout offering to make you a new pair of slacks or a custom tailored blouse. As a result we spent the majority of our first two days here picking out fabrics, getting measured, and then fitted for the various suits, coats, and pants we had made. Between tailor stores we managed to stroll down the charming streets and admire the beautiful architecture of the many well preserved buildings in this UNESCO World Heritage Site town. We also took some time to take a cooking class to learn some of the local specialties including Ban Xeo (Pancake filled with meat), Cao Lao (Noodle and Pork) and Vietnamese Wontons.



Lindsay and Sarah taking notes during our cooking class


One of the many charming little side streets in Hoi An


Mark trying his hand at ceramics



Sarah trying on her newly made coat


Mark and Lindsay outside a old clan meeting house


Another Charming Street in Hoi An


The Ancient Ruins of My Son. Built by the Champa People


Hue

After stuffing our bags full of our new clothing, we continued up the coast a few hours from Hoi An to the city of Hue. Hue seemed like it would be a great historical city to explore, unfortunately it was pouring rain the entire time we were here. While we couldn't do much exploring of the city, we did manage to go on a great tour of the Demilitarized Zone (aka the 17th Parallel). The tour included a visit to an amazing tunnel system created by a Vietnamese village, as well as a stop at Khe San the former site of a major US Base.

Lindsay and Sarah in front of a King's Tomb


Mark squeezing through the tunnel



Old Bombs left askew at Khe San

The Remains of a Helicopter at Khe San

The luxurious DMZ bus

Sarah next to a sacred turtle statue in Hue


Another Remnant of the US Military in Vietnam


A cultural performance in Hue