hanoi trip 12.... motorbike taxi

I don't have photographs! But I could never forget the motorbike-taxi ride I have had.

Imagine this.
The terrain:- Road looks more like a dried out river bed full of rocks and pebbles.

Gradient of roads:- Mostly 45% gradient; up and or down.

The load or passengers:- other than the driver and I, there is our overnight backpack for three and two bags of provision.

The set-up:- our backpack was placed in front of and on top of the handlebars, between the drivers hand! Provisions was neatly packed in a box and securely tied to the back of the motorbike. I am wedged between the box and the driver!

My Ride:- As we traversed up and down the hill, I had my eye closed, praying for travel mercy. Talking to the villagers as we passed them, the driver was going slowly. He did the latter probably because I was pulling down on to his jacket for dear life. In retrospect, I could have strangled him and have transferred my fear.

Anyway the second part was most hilarous, now that I could talk about it! After we dropped off the first bag of provision, the driver threw away the box. Then he put the provision on top of the backpack. Only problem with this is - it was not secured. So after the first bend, I saw him, took his left hand off the handle-bars as the provision started to slide off. So for the rest of the journey, I transferred my hands from hanging on to the driver's jacket to holding on to the provision.

Through the rest of bends and winds of the mountainous 'streets of La Ca, Sapa' I was hanging on to a pear on my right hand, and a cabbage (not Savoy cabbage, mind you) on my left hand, with the drivers body wedged tightly between my arms.

Yes, it was a memorable journey, my motorbike-taxi ride! Heroic even, especially when I found out that it was our lunch that I have safe-guarded!

Would I do the whole Hanoi trip all over again? No question about it - a hearty Yes!

Why?

We need to get out of our boundaries of comfort and be reminded we are alive!

Foolhardy? No!

We are being tested every day. Though it may not be a physical danger in our comfort zone, we sometimes die upon our spiritual life, going through the motion of worship, without really seeking HIM!

Deep?

Yes - very deep!

To what depth do we know HIM?

I am far from knowing HIM, and still with great shallowness!
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Hanoi 11... streets of Hanoi..

Like all developing countries, motorbikes are the most common mode of transport. There are just so many of them. Have decided to make it a point to learn and get a licence for motorbikes. Rationale - motorbikes seem to be the fastest and most appropriate for city and rough terrain.

Another pointer we learnt from our guide, if we need to cross the road, we just walk into the road, slowly; and the bikers will know how to avoid the pedestrian. Good advice. Except he forgot to tell us not to wear long sleeves, where it could be hooked by the handle bar, like me. Yes, when that happened, I dived into the bike, before I fall and dragged on the road. Landed on the driver, did a 360 roll and stood up on my feet with only a small scratch on my wrist. Praise the Lord!

After the incident, every one, including the biker, and her child just went on their way merrily; without a word to me. I actually expected to be beaten or thrown into the Vietnamese jail. Guess accidents are common and life is also pretty cheap in the third world country too!

vendor soliciting business, expecting the bikers to stop.

view of motorcycles coming at us, whilst we were on a trishaw..phew!

motorcycle 'traffic jam'

view from a french restuarant... yup we did know when to take a break. Only problem we forgot to take a picture of the number of 'pho' or beef noodles we have had..

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Hanoi trip 10 ... ladies of the hills..

I have to give tribute to the ladies of the hill.

Remarkable ladies of the Black Hmong.. who
- held my hand literally over the steep, muddy and steps of the hills and valleys.

- wore plastic slippers but walked sure footed like a mountain goat over rocks and pebbles; whilst my legs wobbbled around, in an expensive New Balance trekking footwear!

- carried a heavy bamboo basket; packed with their handicrafts; whilst we could hardly carry ourselves over the hills and valley

- made shapes of animals with straws as they walked, making friends; waiting for the opportune moment, to sell their wares to the unsuspecting, hapless if not breathless city folks!

However (and with a sigh!) all 'progress' and 'modernisation' comes with a price! Not that I was not grateful; but my Hmong lady was trying to flog off a cushion cover to me for 130,000 Dong or about US$100.00. I could probably have bought it for nothing more than US10.00 in town. Even tried to remind me that she helped me!

The insistent bugging irritated one of our super-fit fellow travellers so much that he actually said 'how could they prostitute (and he meant insistent bugging) themselves for US$2.00'.

Which leads me to mention and I did ask 'where are the men' or 'where is your husband'? Answer - they are at home, looking after the children. Then again, I have to admit, that I have not seen so many men carrying and caring for children, around where we 'home-stayed' in the village. In the city square of Sapa, it was only ladies who were 'trading'!

I like to think that it was strategic that all the women folks were involved in the tourist trade, as their clothing were traditionally very colourful. Best not to let 'people' know that I honestly think that women are the stronger species. This is especially so when it can be quoted from the Bible that women should listen to their men and not be heard in Church! LOL!


Do you know that the eldest among them is only 28 years of age? But the hardship of working the fields and the harshness of the weather are reflected in their faces!!!

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Hanoi trip 9 ... trekking...

After the last four years, of no exercise, but work and assignments, the trekking was more than a bit of shock to the body system. Not only my legs wobbled literally, I discovered my hip joints as they ached. Apparently, all these natural wonders will soon be flooded out for a dam. Not sure when, so please, go soonest!

Yup this is the start of the trekk. We were told we are going to stay somewhere down there.

among the terraced fields of the Hmong villages...

finally the river bed ...

One of the tributaries of the Red river.

I did remember to stop and admire the handiwork of God...
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hanoi trip 8 ... home-stay

Home-stay seems to be such a novelty if not the fashion for tourism for the West.
This is especially so in countries which does not have basilica, temples and ancient ruins!

I suppose it is a novelty for the many of the current post-modern Western generation, who has not lived in a wooden house, waking up literally to the call of the rooster! This is a direct contrast and to quote our friend, Helen, 'I grew in this type of house, where I need to tap the rubber trees before I go to school'.

Irony is - our generation grew up in such living environment; worked like hell to get out of that 'poverty' level. And we now pay US dollars to stay in one! and for our holiday too! I suppose we could also view this as a humbling reminder not to forget that 'poverty' is still very much around!

Our 'home' for the night - no bed bugs to disturb our sleep! Honestly, even if there were any, we were all so tired that we would not have noticed even if the bed bugs carried us off to their den!

Dinner arrangement..

Sleeping arrangement...

keeping warm by 9pm

Waking up to the sound of rooster's cookadoodle-do, and this sight!

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hanoi trip 7, .. laughing cow..s

It was not intentional. But this trip is almost a trade-visit. Just before the trip, an ex-colleague who now works for Laughing Cow, tells me that Vietnam is the largest market for the company, in Asia, worth more than US10m. Not surprise, since Vietnam was a French colony.

So every where we went, we were served and saw the familiar Laughing Cow being stocked in a chocolate shop in Sapa...

Ordinary grocery shop ... verses our modern hypermarkets..

...served ... after a 14km trekk ... in the middle of no-where - actually it is a little village that I am just too exhausted to remember its name ...

... baquettes sold as street food...

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hanoi trip 6.. culture...

There are some things we cannot run away from. The Chinese!

Yes the Lunar New Year is two weeks away! Doesn't matter whether it is Chinatown in San Franciso, Petaling street or Hanoi. The red and yellow laterns and deco are out.




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hanoi trip 5 ... accomplishments..

Mostly we like to collect a list of 'accomplishments', whether it is academic, an antiquities of wealth or just something most mundane. I have mine. I have swam or rather dipped into the North Altantic Ocean, North Sea ie Artic Ocean (?). Obviously we have had to add the North Pacific Ocean, at least part of it, in the list. Not sure if it is a good example for the young ones though!

Last take before we make the plunge..

Yes, we did jump. The water was so cold, that it took more than my breath away!

Mission accomplished...

Our antics did give our local guide a near heart-attack. He was so worried that he actually got a bouy ready to throw at and for us. We did set a record for him. Our friend, Helen, though disapproving, did remember to photograph a memento for us. So we do have to register it for record.

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hanoi trip 4 ... animals we met...

This is just a collection of animals we met...
Pet goats foraging for themselves on the hills... soon to be served on the table for food. Wonder how the locals catch them ... probably in the night when they find their way back to their Vietnamese barn?

A pot-bellied Vietnamese pig that Denise Richards keeps as pet...
Buffalo taking a rest right in the middle of the 'road'.. Notice the shadows? It is us city-folks snapping photos.


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hanoi trip 2 ... flowers of Vietnam..

Many things are lost in the name of progress. Flowers do not fare any better.

Wild indigenious Orchids ????

Wild flowers growing on bunds of rice fields...

alpine plants found only in someone's garden, as the fields are cleared to plant rice.

wild alpine flowers...

red cherry blossoms that we now immitate with plastic ones for Chinese New Year

real white cherry blossoms..


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hanoi trip 3 .. looking down to earth..

Yup I am looking down on earth from above the cloud.

Clouds have never looked so soft and fluffy before..

Usually we look up at the sky, but now earth is peeping up from beneath the cloud...

Cross section of clouds/sky - earth - and sea..


Just another point of view. Thanks to my new toy...
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hanoi trip 2 .. heavens birth...

what the Confuscious said is true ..

"the HEAVENS BIRTH .... nature in its natural glory at halong bay......

and the HEAVENS WILL LOOK AFTER ITS OWN.....

- here we met a girl child with her siblings ... hardly old enough to look after herself... over steep and difficult terrain ... in freezing temperature ....in abject poverty... walking probably to somewhere ... and no adult in sight...

- back at home now, we 'rich and civilised people' worry about hepatitis B, H1N1 etc..etc..

But this is their playground
and a round ball of mud ... their toy....


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hanoi trip 1

Well, it is good to be back, alive and kicking.

Trip has been memorable. Secret is -
a. go with some one half your age!
b. better still - let them plan it! Their enthusasim for life or at least their sense of adventure is just beginning.
c. go on trips planned for Westerners. Why? they want to see things that we take for granted, or do things like trekk for 14km a day - non stop; except for half an hour break for lunch! We need 'to do things' - every thing must be result-orientated. This is as opposed to stopping and enjoying the moment!

Overall lasting impression?
d. my legs wobbled (literally) over, up and down, on one of the steepest mountains, at Sapa, Vietnam; where the Hmong villages terraced their fields! Hits home the fact that I need to exercise; and must do Tibet before my legs could no longer handle it!
e. was knocked down by a motobike in the middle of Hanoi city. Did a double roll and stood up without a scratch!
f. jumped into the waters at Halong Bay, at about 4degrees C. Just so I could add North Pacific Ocean into my list of Oceans and Seas, I have had 'bathed' in. It gave the tour guide called Power, a near heart attack; to quote him - we are the first Asian and female tourists in his charge and experience of ten years, that jump into the bay in winter! Water was so cold that it took more than my breath away!
g. got 'kidnapped' and taken to another hotel. Apparently it is a typical trick done to tourist. Hotel turns out to be relatively cheap and four star standard!
h. doesn't matter what background we were from, and how we are brought up! if we cannot let go of our past and move forward, we are what we were! A lesson I seem to witness or reminded ever so often!
i. missed the flight, although we were standing in the long queue! Just another of our Malaysian inefficieny!
j. So we miss the first part of the journey. Originally supposed to spend two days in Kunming, cross the Chinese border in an overnight bus (with bunker) into Vietnam. Other than the fact that I have had to pay double fare, apparently, we were lucky that we missed this part of the trip. Our Friend threw away her towel-blanket after the bus journey!

Last but not least, Yup, my God and Lord, Jesus Christ, is with me where ever I go! Amen!
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