Day 27 – Snakes on a mini bus
So in my last post I was waffling about cultural things we'd observed, as our list of activities had ground to a halt again while the never ending rain fell from the sky. We were getting a little miffed at our lack of progress northward, and so with a little help from out extremely helpful and friendly hotel owner (the Czech speaking one) we found a solution. While driving around the country we had observed buses with bikes stacked on top, and decided this was the solution we were looking for. Apparently it's not 100% legal, and our friend advised us of a company that does this the legal way – our understanding by his description was there was some storage area in the back of a large coach they drove them into. This seemed like a good idea, as we would stay dry, and the distance we needed to cover was around 300km - more than we cared to do in a day, especially if it was raining.
Our very friendly and helpful man who owned the hotel we stayed in for 4 days, and spoke fluent Czech!
The bus left at 6 the next morning, so we got up really early, checked out, and went to the bus depot. There a minibus rolled up, and it dawned on us that we'd actually booed what we'd seen so many times on the road already. These guys hooked a rope around the front wheel, and using a small ladder, and the open windows as the bus for steps, lynched our bikes onto the roof one by one in 3 simple manoeuvres. They laid them down on top next to each other, and tied them securely. Our bags and ourselves inside. The bus stank of petrol, as we'd filled up previously, and the bike being on it's side meant three quarters of the fuel just pissed out onto the roof.
Getting the bikes on & off the mini bus-loads of fun ;)
Inside the bus the floor and back area was coated in boxes of all shapes and sizes – transporting some unknown cargo from one destination to the other. We assumed by the lack of space remaining that perhaps we had the bus to ourselves, and we could spread out a little and catch some zzz's en-route. How wrong we were! One guy who winched our bike on board spent most of the rest of the trip hanging out the open door. As we started to leave the city, we drove past the main bus depot, where by means of simply shouting at everyone on the road and street he seemed to acquire more fares to take to the buses final destination (or somewhere en-route) – Danang. He picked up girls on the back of a bikes – who were getting a lift from a friend, carrying large bags, whom he convinced the bus was a better option. Guys walking to the (conventional) bus stop with bags, likely going home for the weekend after being at Uni all week - he jumped on and practically dragged onto the bus. People standing on corners, sitting in cafés, all got convinced by this young guy to get on, and everyone bartered for their price before they boarded – it was hilarious. Further along route we stopped at places they'd obviously prearranged to stop and collect people. Another guy got on with a bike – the bus drivers starts accelerating to 60kph as the other chaps is still on the roof securing the bike, as he then clambers down the side and swings into the bus as we overtake tens of bikes at breakneck speeds.
In about an hour – every spare inch of space was used up, either with bodies, boxes or luggage. We all had to seats still as our bodies didn't really fit in the ridiculously small seats, and there were boxes under our feet – with our bags as well, there just wasn't room. People got on-board with all sorts of things; electronic equipment, artwork, overnight bags, food. One woman even got on with a giant tank filled with liquid which got plonked in front of Lukas. Upon closer inspection there seemed to be something moving side. It as actually a snake pickling tank – a few hundred small snakes stuffed in a tank filled with soy sauce where they are left to pickle-to-death, they are then eaten. Half were clearly dead already, the rest struggling for life. It was pretty grim. The girls sat next to Lukas got splashed by the yuky fluid they were in, the bus guy gave her a paper napkin,... thanks! LOL. One poor girl sat a few seats away from us was really not having a good time, and must have chucked up at least 20 times into tiny black plastic bags which she just chucked from the moving buses window. When we stopped at a half-way house for a toilet & drink break, local dogs were seen carrying these bags around, they must take them to a quiet place to eat the contents – filthy animals :) By this point we were sharing a 20 year-old nicotine-interior-stained, petrol and damp smelling mini bus with 14 random people, one of whom was constantly vomiting, all their and our luggage, about half a tonne of cargo, and a tank full of half-dead/half-alive pickled serpents, with four motorbikes and large basket on the roof. It really was quite and experience. The funniest thing was, that day we'd only passed through a few small showers – it had remained relatively dry, and was actually quite a pleasant day by the end of the journey – we could probably have simply driven ourselves. But considering we had no realistic idea of the weather forecast (internet and tv don't have very accurate data for this area of the world), and it would have been the longest journey endured yet, along the business stretch of motorway we would have encountered to date – we were actually kind of glad we took the bus.
The bus dropped us 10km from our destination – Hoi An (30 km south of Danang). With a little help from us to get our bikes back down, we strapped our bikes back on, and continued the remaining distance on our own steam.
Updated visual-journey progress - the journey from Quy Nho'n to Hoi An
Hoi An is an interesting place. It's very touristy, perhaps more so than anywhere we have been so far here. It's meant to be one of the earliest ports in the region, benefiting from a safe harbour that leads 5km up a river to the town centre. There were many types of cultures that used it as a trading post from all over the S.E. Asia region – mostly Chinese ad Japanese, and these influences are evident in the architecture of this interesting little place. The entire place floods in rainy season – the water level rises up to 3 metres at times - and becomes like Venice – people forced to live on the first floors and use boats,or retreat to higher ground. All the building walls are damp and mossy, they must have to redecorate every year! Walking around the narrow streets and lanes, it's east to imagine how this town may have looked 150 years ago, and they have made use of every ounce of that heritage to make this THE tourist destination of central Vietnam. What was the old trading town in the centre is now entirely gift shops, bars, restaurants, and sites of touristic interest. It's very picturesque, but the town itself too touristy for our blood.
What this place does have is a lot of things to do in the immediate area surrounding the city, so it makes a good base. Also the food here is the best we have experienced anywhere in Vietnam – it really is rather good, so a great place to spend our evenings and gorge ourselves on large set-meal options :)
We arrived for lunch, found a hotel an filled up no our regular lunch time meal of Pho Bo (beef noodle soup). We then set about exploring the town centre and getting those touristy things done, so we could tick them off and not wonder by, curious that we might have missed something we might have enjoyed. Turns out it wasn't hat great, but you never can tell, and we did learn a little about the town's history. Nothing other than the town itself photo worthy though.
How most of the town looks
The following morning we were up early, eager to beat the tourists to the prime spots in the region. We visited an ancient temple site, filed with ruins (and tourists even at the early hours), which was interesting. Not exactly well preserved, and lovingly taken care of, but still fascinating to experience. We explored marble mountain outcrops further north, which are coated in religious temples, pagodas, with gigantic hidden caves containing Buddha's carved out of the natural rock – entirely surrounded by a town whose sole industry seemed to be carving giant chunks of marble into large tacky statues and ornaments, that only the insanely rich (to own enough land/big enough room to house them) or tasteless would buy. We briefly explored a peninsula in the north end of the regions largest city Danang, that contained a nature reserve, where along the coast we witnessed masses of luxury resorts being constructed, and a 120m tall religious statue – presumably Danag's version of the Statue of liberty – which we could imagine being such a different place in 10 years time. They must be pepping the city to become Vietnam's newest luxury tourist destination, and everyone seems to be getting in on the act. A nice drive back, and another splendid meal to fill our stomachs.
The villagers crafting statues from giant chunks of marble
Today we slept in with monster hangovers having bought some cheap booze, and drinking it sat on the pavement opposite our hotel watching the world go by and putting it to right. After which we had ourselves booked into do a Vietnamese cookery lesson. It really was fun! We first went to the market where the girl (Han?) showed us where the locals buy their food,and also the restaurants in the area. This was an experience in itself. Markets here are very hectic, and packed with a maze of narrow passages between stalls,down which hundreds of people walk as well as cycle, and motorbikes slowly navigate-it's ridiculous, they really will drive a bike anywhere in this country. It was good to see how the markets operate, and to be shown how Vietnamese identify good fresh veg, example; Pak Choi cabbage – if it looks like insects have been eating the leaves a little – that's good, as it's tasty, and not covered in insecticides (which I believe are used quite heavily over here). If we saw it had been eaten we'd probably instantly discount it. They sold every type of food there-meat, veg, seafood, and we went around and saw it all, bought what we needed, and back to the restaurant to start our preparation.
We had chosen to cook;
1. Our daily favourite, Pho Bo (Beef noodle soup)
2. Fish with chilli & lemongrass
3. Chicken hotpot
All quite traditional Vietnamese dishes. And all very tasty. We prepared our marinades for the meats, prepared the veg and cooked one dish at a time, pausing to eat once we'd finished one. We were writing the recipes down each step of the way and have made a separate recipe blog post for anyone interested in the ingredient and method for themselves. I'll definitely be visiting more Chinese supermarkets (or Vietnamese if they exist in London) when I return and sure I'll subject at least some of you to some of newly learnt culinary delights ;)
Cooking class fun!
Off for our last lovely dinner in this town tonight, then onwards again tomorrow, further north to a place called Hue. It's only 100km, so a short trip, and time to look around before heading north again.
More pictures buy Lukas.
Our very friendly and helpful man who owned the hotel we stayed in for 4 days, and spoke fluent Czech!
The bus left at 6 the next morning, so we got up really early, checked out, and went to the bus depot. There a minibus rolled up, and it dawned on us that we'd actually booed what we'd seen so many times on the road already. These guys hooked a rope around the front wheel, and using a small ladder, and the open windows as the bus for steps, lynched our bikes onto the roof one by one in 3 simple manoeuvres. They laid them down on top next to each other, and tied them securely. Our bags and ourselves inside. The bus stank of petrol, as we'd filled up previously, and the bike being on it's side meant three quarters of the fuel just pissed out onto the roof.
Getting the bikes on & off the mini bus-loads of fun ;)
Inside the bus the floor and back area was coated in boxes of all shapes and sizes – transporting some unknown cargo from one destination to the other. We assumed by the lack of space remaining that perhaps we had the bus to ourselves, and we could spread out a little and catch some zzz's en-route. How wrong we were! One guy who winched our bike on board spent most of the rest of the trip hanging out the open door. As we started to leave the city, we drove past the main bus depot, where by means of simply shouting at everyone on the road and street he seemed to acquire more fares to take to the buses final destination (or somewhere en-route) – Danang. He picked up girls on the back of a bikes – who were getting a lift from a friend, carrying large bags, whom he convinced the bus was a better option. Guys walking to the (conventional) bus stop with bags, likely going home for the weekend after being at Uni all week - he jumped on and practically dragged onto the bus. People standing on corners, sitting in cafés, all got convinced by this young guy to get on, and everyone bartered for their price before they boarded – it was hilarious. Further along route we stopped at places they'd obviously prearranged to stop and collect people. Another guy got on with a bike – the bus drivers starts accelerating to 60kph as the other chaps is still on the roof securing the bike, as he then clambers down the side and swings into the bus as we overtake tens of bikes at breakneck speeds.
In about an hour – every spare inch of space was used up, either with bodies, boxes or luggage. We all had to seats still as our bodies didn't really fit in the ridiculously small seats, and there were boxes under our feet – with our bags as well, there just wasn't room. People got on-board with all sorts of things; electronic equipment, artwork, overnight bags, food. One woman even got on with a giant tank filled with liquid which got plonked in front of Lukas. Upon closer inspection there seemed to be something moving side. It as actually a snake pickling tank – a few hundred small snakes stuffed in a tank filled with soy sauce where they are left to pickle-to-death, they are then eaten. Half were clearly dead already, the rest struggling for life. It was pretty grim. The girls sat next to Lukas got splashed by the yuky fluid they were in, the bus guy gave her a paper napkin,... thanks! LOL. One poor girl sat a few seats away from us was really not having a good time, and must have chucked up at least 20 times into tiny black plastic bags which she just chucked from the moving buses window. When we stopped at a half-way house for a toilet & drink break, local dogs were seen carrying these bags around, they must take them to a quiet place to eat the contents – filthy animals :) By this point we were sharing a 20 year-old nicotine-interior-stained, petrol and damp smelling mini bus with 14 random people, one of whom was constantly vomiting, all their and our luggage, about half a tonne of cargo, and a tank full of half-dead/half-alive pickled serpents, with four motorbikes and large basket on the roof. It really was quite and experience. The funniest thing was, that day we'd only passed through a few small showers – it had remained relatively dry, and was actually quite a pleasant day by the end of the journey – we could probably have simply driven ourselves. But considering we had no realistic idea of the weather forecast (internet and tv don't have very accurate data for this area of the world), and it would have been the longest journey endured yet, along the business stretch of motorway we would have encountered to date – we were actually kind of glad we took the bus.
The bus dropped us 10km from our destination – Hoi An (30 km south of Danang). With a little help from us to get our bikes back down, we strapped our bikes back on, and continued the remaining distance on our own steam.
Updated visual-journey progress - the journey from Quy Nho'n to Hoi An
Hoi An is an interesting place. It's very touristy, perhaps more so than anywhere we have been so far here. It's meant to be one of the earliest ports in the region, benefiting from a safe harbour that leads 5km up a river to the town centre. There were many types of cultures that used it as a trading post from all over the S.E. Asia region – mostly Chinese ad Japanese, and these influences are evident in the architecture of this interesting little place. The entire place floods in rainy season – the water level rises up to 3 metres at times - and becomes like Venice – people forced to live on the first floors and use boats,or retreat to higher ground. All the building walls are damp and mossy, they must have to redecorate every year! Walking around the narrow streets and lanes, it's east to imagine how this town may have looked 150 years ago, and they have made use of every ounce of that heritage to make this THE tourist destination of central Vietnam. What was the old trading town in the centre is now entirely gift shops, bars, restaurants, and sites of touristic interest. It's very picturesque, but the town itself too touristy for our blood.
What this place does have is a lot of things to do in the immediate area surrounding the city, so it makes a good base. Also the food here is the best we have experienced anywhere in Vietnam – it really is rather good, so a great place to spend our evenings and gorge ourselves on large set-meal options :)
We arrived for lunch, found a hotel an filled up no our regular lunch time meal of Pho Bo (beef noodle soup). We then set about exploring the town centre and getting those touristy things done, so we could tick them off and not wonder by, curious that we might have missed something we might have enjoyed. Turns out it wasn't hat great, but you never can tell, and we did learn a little about the town's history. Nothing other than the town itself photo worthy though.
How most of the town looks
The following morning we were up early, eager to beat the tourists to the prime spots in the region. We visited an ancient temple site, filed with ruins (and tourists even at the early hours), which was interesting. Not exactly well preserved, and lovingly taken care of, but still fascinating to experience. We explored marble mountain outcrops further north, which are coated in religious temples, pagodas, with gigantic hidden caves containing Buddha's carved out of the natural rock – entirely surrounded by a town whose sole industry seemed to be carving giant chunks of marble into large tacky statues and ornaments, that only the insanely rich (to own enough land/big enough room to house them) or tasteless would buy. We briefly explored a peninsula in the north end of the regions largest city Danang, that contained a nature reserve, where along the coast we witnessed masses of luxury resorts being constructed, and a 120m tall religious statue – presumably Danag's version of the Statue of liberty – which we could imagine being such a different place in 10 years time. They must be pepping the city to become Vietnam's newest luxury tourist destination, and everyone seems to be getting in on the act. A nice drive back, and another splendid meal to fill our stomachs.
The villagers crafting statues from giant chunks of marble
Today we slept in with monster hangovers having bought some cheap booze, and drinking it sat on the pavement opposite our hotel watching the world go by and putting it to right. After which we had ourselves booked into do a Vietnamese cookery lesson. It really was fun! We first went to the market where the girl (Han?) showed us where the locals buy their food,and also the restaurants in the area. This was an experience in itself. Markets here are very hectic, and packed with a maze of narrow passages between stalls,down which hundreds of people walk as well as cycle, and motorbikes slowly navigate-it's ridiculous, they really will drive a bike anywhere in this country. It was good to see how the markets operate, and to be shown how Vietnamese identify good fresh veg, example; Pak Choi cabbage – if it looks like insects have been eating the leaves a little – that's good, as it's tasty, and not covered in insecticides (which I believe are used quite heavily over here). If we saw it had been eaten we'd probably instantly discount it. They sold every type of food there-meat, veg, seafood, and we went around and saw it all, bought what we needed, and back to the restaurant to start our preparation.
We had chosen to cook;
1. Our daily favourite, Pho Bo (Beef noodle soup)
2. Fish with chilli & lemongrass
3. Chicken hotpot
All quite traditional Vietnamese dishes. And all very tasty. We prepared our marinades for the meats, prepared the veg and cooked one dish at a time, pausing to eat once we'd finished one. We were writing the recipes down each step of the way and have made a separate recipe blog post for anyone interested in the ingredient and method for themselves. I'll definitely be visiting more Chinese supermarkets (or Vietnamese if they exist in London) when I return and sure I'll subject at least some of you to some of newly learnt culinary delights ;)
Cooking class fun!
Off for our last lovely dinner in this town tonight, then onwards again tomorrow, further north to a place called Hue. It's only 100km, so a short trip, and time to look around before heading north again.
More pictures buy Lukas.
posted by Darkejon @ 13:53
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