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| Thursday May 7, 2007
The weather was suppose to be good all weekend so I decided to ride my bike up to Montreal to visit my relatives. 
Had my route all planned, avoid the interstate as much as possible. Left around noon, rode up the Saw Mill Parkway to the Taconic all the way up to Albany, then back on I87 to Montreal. Riding through the Adirondacks, I'm getting low on gas. I stopped at the next gas station but the gas pump doesn't work. I have about 40-50 miles in my reserve tank but I spent almost half of that getting to this gas station. Head off hoping to find one soon, but not much luck. The exits are further apart around these neck of the woods. 
Shroon Lake right next to the gas station with the non working pump.
On the road again, mile after mile no gas stations. Bike starts sputtering around. Shit, I am running out of gas. Pull off to the side of the road. It's around 7 PM, getting dark soon and I'm so screwed. Stuck out my hitch hiker's thumb. 10 minutes and a car pulls over and the guy gives me a ride to the next exit. He also offers me to drive me back to the bike. I was really lucky this dude came along.
As I was about to ride off, a trooper pulls over a speedy car about 50 feet in front of me. Damn, where was this trooper an hour ago.
Back on the road, it's dark and cold but I make it to Montreal around 9 PM. The highway I need to get on it closed off. I see flares, probably to due to an accident. I get lost and stop at a gas station to pick up a map.
Getting into my cousin's place around 11 PM. Took me almost 12 hours which should've been a 6 hour trip. Why? Took local roads up with lower speed limit. Had to stop for gas every 70-100 miles. My gas tank only holds 3 gallons. Needed to stop often to stretch my legs and rest. Had lunch at a diner. Ran out of gas. Got lost in Montreal. I was so pooped!
Friday May 8
St. Joseph's Oratory
It's takeout place with a few outside tables. Serve burgers and hot dogs and fresh orange juice. Popular meetup and hang out spot for bikers.
Saturday May 9
Back on the road to visit D near Boston. Rode through Vermont and New Hampshire. Real scenic even on the interstate.
At a Vermont rest stop.
Sunday May 10
Getting ready to head back to NYC.
Almost 1000 miles in four days.
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Had an awesome day at the Gunks on Saturday. It was long overdue, but
I
made it out. Pics of some Gunks inhabitants that came out and greeted
me.
Skink on the first pitch of
Jackie
Black
Vultures on the second pitch of Three Pines. There were 4 of them:
parents and 2 kids. I thought there were going to claw my eyes out to
protect their nest.
Snake...oooo I hate
snakes!
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Saturday, October 8
Didn't get much sleep last night. I was too anxious and excited about
the trip; figured it was a good thing anyway because then I can sleep
on the plane. What else am I going to do for 20 hours? This is my first
time back to Vietnam since I left at the age of three, so it's been
long overdue.
I flew on Thai Airways with a stop over in Bangkok. There were movies/TV/music on demand along with video games. I saw The Beautiful Country
which is about Vietnam and that got me more excited and anxious.
Couldn't sleep on the plane so I ended up watching about 4 movies.
Sunday, October 9
I arrived in Hanoi Sunday night and immediately felt the humidity as
soon as I stepped off the plane followed by the strong smell of auto exhaust. The taxi ride to the hotel was a real
experience in itself. Vietnamese drivers are either crazy or they can
really drive. There are motorbikes everywhere, swarms of them as it is the main mode of transportation in Vietnam. Bicycles are
abundant also and people ride them everywhere, even on highways! My
driver swerved from lane to lane to get past the slower motorbikes,
came inches away from hitting one several times. My driver honks the horn and the
motorbikes moves over to let the car pass. The sequence of events was
repeated every few seconds: pull up dangerously close to a vehicle,
honk the horn, pass, and then repeat. The riders usually don't wear any
gear, that is no helmet. I've seen shorts and flip flops, but that was
just the beginning as I will later find out the outrageous things
people can do with their motorbikes.
In the states, if you have anything lower than a 600cc bike people
think it's too small, not powerful enough, question weather they can
ride two up. Most of bikes in Vietnam are 150cc and lower and you'll be
very surprise what they can do with these bikes. I saw people riding
four up (four people on a motorbike), young kids riding with their
parents, mothers holding babies on the back; it was crazy. I actually
saw a family of five on one!!! Kid standing in the front holding the
side mirrors (this is the only pupose for side mirrors), anotherkid and
a baby sandwiched between the father and the mother. All I can think to
myself was that this was absolutely crazy; Vietnam is insane and I
loved every bit of it.
I had the biggest smile on my face; so this is where I'm from. It felt
like I was finally home even though I have no prior memories of
Vietnam.
Traffic was crazy (yes, I'm going to be using this word a lot. LOL).
Besides some traffic lights, the major traffic rule is just to avoid
hitting other vehicles and pedistrians. My taxi was literally
surrounded by motorbikes/bicycles going through a congested
intersection.
I finally arrived at the Hotel around 9pm and checked in. I stayed at
the Zephyr (Unusual name for something in Vietnam. Could it be from
Lords of Dogtown? Just saw the movie before leaving the states) Hotel
overlooking the Hoan Kiem Lake.
I didn't feel tired at all even though I had little sleep the night
before and almost none on the plane. I called up Will on the cell phone
he left in the room for me. I meet up with him and Ha (Will's friend -
she went to Baruch and came back to Hanoi to live) and we head to a
singing bar
nearby. What's singing bar? Well actually don't know what the place is
called, but it has a stage for singers and dancers. There was mix of
Vietnamese and American songs. We saw couple of acts, had a few beers
and then left. Ha went home (work the next day) so Will and I headed to
a nearby club she recommended. We called it a night around 1AM.
School is out at an intersection.
Monday, October 10
Woke up early at 5AM, Will was up too. It was like this almost
everyday, waking up around 6 or 7 have breakfast and head out. We went
sight seeing but all the governemnt buildings, museums were closed on
Monday. We ended up just exploring the city and going to the Temple of
Literature. At almost every street corner there were motorbike (moto)
drivers or cyclos asking us if we wanted "moto" or a cyclo ride/tour. A
moto ride is a cheap and quick way to get around the city, but we
wanted to walk most of the time to really see all the nooks and
crannies Vietnam had to offer. At every street corner we were
approached for moto or cyclo. At first I spoke to the them in
Vietnamese, but after a while it
was too much and we just wanted to go about our way. Once they knew I
spoke a little, they would get into a conversation with me and try to
get me to take a ride. So I just started saying "No thanks" in English.
Women selling food and vegetables on the streets. Street vedors are
everywhere and selling everything. Cooking is also done on the street.
Small tables and chairs are set up for a quick lunch or dinner.
Vietnam Military History Museum. It was closed.
One Pillar Pogada built in 1049.
Hanoi is such a beautiful city.
West Lake. Hanoi has several lakes. This pic was taken from a swan paddle boat. LOL.
Inside the Temple of Literaure (Van Mieu Pagoda) complex:
Musicians playing traditional Vietnamese instruments.
We decided to get a massage after a long day of walking around in the
hot humid city. Went to this top notch spa for a full body massage for
under $30 USD. Had dinner nearby the spa at Pho 24 before catching our
overnight train to Sapa.
Train yard to Sapa.
Tuesday, October 11
Visted the Hmong, Dao and other minorities villages in Sapa. The train ride was
about 8 hours and we arrived around 6AM; slept most of the way in our
cabin (4 bunk beds).
The bathroom. Lets just say it's best to avoid going while the train is moving.
We hired a driver to pick us up and to drive us
around Sapa and the nearby villages. After a 30 min ride we arrived in
Sapa, grabbed breakfast, and headed to Lau Chai village (Black Hmong).
The lanscape was breathtaking. Took this on our morning drive to Sapa.
Lau Chai village - Our driver dropped us off and just told us to follow
the trail through the village and he would meet us at the other side.
As soon as we stepped out, we were surrounded by a group of young boys.
They were trying to sell us bamboo sticks for our hike. We declined and
they followed us for a few minutes. One kid offered to be our guide,
which the way he said it, I mistook it for the Vietnamese word for
girl. I was like, WTF! Pimping already at such a young age. LOL.
So we lost the boys and I guess it was the girl's turn. Two girls came
up to us selling handmade pouches, bracelets, earrings. They were so
cute and adorable, and it was definitely a highlight of my trip. So the
conversation went something like this:
girl 1: You buy this?
me: No thank you.
girl 1: What about this?
me: No, that's OK. We're just going to walk around for a while. Maybe later.
girl 2 joins in and we go thru the same conversation.
girl 1: You buy earrings?
me: What am I going to do with earrings?
girl 1: Your girlfriend.
me: I don't have a girlfriend.
After a while I broke down and bought a pouch from girl 1.
me: How much for the pouch?
girl 1: You name price.
me: Oh geez, I don't know how much this stuff goes for.
I offered her a price and we shook on it. I probably got ripped off.
LOL. But really it doesn't matter. A few dollars is nothing, but to
them it's a lot of money. She can probably call it a day and head back
to her house, and that's what she did later.
girl 2: you buy from her, you buy from me tooooo.
me: I just bought something. (I point at Will) Go ask Will.
girl 2: you buy from her, you buy from me tooooo.
So we go thru the same thing every few minutes. That's all she kept
saying for the whole time they followed us, which was about an hour.
Girl 1 knew a little more English so we talked with her more. Her
mother made the pouches and her father made the metal bracelets. We
passes by her house and she went in, and that's when another girl
joined us; she asked but wasn't persistant as girl 2. It was nice
interacting with them, so we bought something from each girl.
The trail we took.
Girl 2 and girl 3.
Rice grown on land terraces.
Village kids.
Boy pushing a metal ring with a stick.
School.
We went back into town to have lunch and look around.
Town market. Eveything was sold out in the open, including meat.
Hmong girls using the Internet.
Cat Cat Village:
My calves were sore and I was only carrying a light backpack.
Waterfall
in Cat Cat village. Will tried to cross over to the waterfall but
the water was waist high and current was strong. Plus, we
had sandles on and the rocks were slippery.
Chopping wood. Some of the houses had satellite dishes.
Ta Phin Red Dao village
This was another great experience similar to the girls in the morning.
We're pulling into the village, and already the village are waving us
down and surrounded as soon as we stepped out.
Six women followed us. A few spoke decent English, enough to carry on a
conversation. They asked us where we were from, if I spoke Vietnamese,
if I was married, and of course "invited" us to go with them here and
there and take a look at what they have.
Entrance to a cave. Looks creepy, no? Spelunking anyone.
It was real dark inside and we
didn't have flash lights, just a pair of glow sticks and our camera
flash so we didn't go to far. The women warned us of a drop to be
careful of. They also said a few people have went in there to sleep and
died.
So the six women followed us all the way back to the car. They were
really nice but there were six of them and we couldn't buy that much
stuff. So we decided to buy three items each so that everyone would be
happy. They each ended up giving us bracelets (looks like friendship
bracelets), the same ones they were trying to sell us before.
We headed back train station for the over night ride back to
Hanoi. Our driver didn't speak much English, so I had to break out the
Vietnamese. He was 26, married, with a 6 year old daughter.
Wednesday, October 12
Arrived in Hanoi around 5AM, went to Ha's house for a much needed
shower. We had checked out of the hotel when we left for Sapa and
couldn't check in until 12PM. Made our way back to the hotel to grab
breakfast, wandered around some more. Went to the Ngoc Son Temple by our
hotel.
The story behind the turtle and sword is similar to the Legend of King Arthur. This was actually at a cafe near the temple.
Entrance
Restroom, about $0.30 for the toilet paper.
In the evening, we went to this Latin dance bar inside another hotel,
where Will did his thing. The place was Nutz (pun intended). LOL.
Thursday, October 13
Woke up at 6AM, and headed out to watch people exercise. A lot of
people excecise in the morning by the lake. They run, walk, do Tai Chi,
play badminton, etc.
Working out.
Driver came to pick us up in the morning for a 4 hour drive to Halong Bay for an overnight cruise.
This is a pic of the ship off their website.
Ordering drinks for lunch. I was trying to teach Will some Vietnamase
but this attempt failed. LOL. We had steamed crabs and didn't know how
the hell to eat it. She had to show us twice how to break apart the crab
to get to the meat.
These boats came by our ship to sell sea shells (say that and food. The top boat was like a floating bodega.
Boat to take us to a cave on an island.
Looks that island from King Kong.
View from the cave.
Houses on the water.
Inside the cave. This cave was huge! And there were 2 more rooms inside.
You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Hell, I saw it and I still
couldn't believe it. This kid comes rowing in on a styrofoam block,
hops onto the pier, and ties his raft to the post.
Went kayaking.
The crew discovered that I was really a stowaway and tossed me out to sea. Swimming off the ship.
We were totally exhausted from kayaking and swimming so we booked a
foot massage before dinner, and a body massage later that night.
Friday, October 14
Woke up early, as usual, so took a stroll through the ship. Saw one of
the crew in the back catching squids with a net. He had a light so I
guess the squids would come up to the surface towards the light.
Took a Tai Chi class on the deck at 6:30AM, had breakfast, and got
ready to leave to go back to Hanoi. Had lunch in Hanoi and then went to
the airport for my flight to Hue.
Took these pics dring a 10 minute period. That above is a mirror! I've
seen them transport and strap down propane tanks, ducks, pigs (two on
each side like saddle bags, and another on the back). I saw this one
guy with a CRT monitor on the back not even strap down. He was holding
it with one had! Now that's just loco.
Hue was an imperial city that housed generations of emperors. It's
really more like a big town than what we would consider a city. I
stayed at the Saigon Morin Hotel and they definitely made me feel like
a king. I checked in had dinner outside in their garden, and then
wandered around for awhile.
I had another bigger room for the living room.
Saturday, October 15
View from the balcony of my room. Girls wearing the traditional long
dress. A lot of girls in Hue wore these dresses, more than in Hanoi
and Saigon.
Boat tours on the Perfume River heading to the imperial tombs.
My hotel is right by the river. Woke up early and walked across the bridge heading to the Imperial City.
Saw few skinks and plenty of geckos on building walls.
Pics of the Imperial City:
Thrown room.
More long dresses, so purty.
Dong Ba market. Everyone was trying to wave me down and get me to take a look at their booths.
Walking back to the hotel at night, I saw a very young girl holding a
baby. She was sitting on the curb begging; it was such a heart broken
sight. I started talking to her. She was 11, and the baby was her 1
year old brother. Her father is a cyclo driver and I'm not sure about
her mother. She might have been sick; I couldn't understand what she
was saying in Vietnamese. I gave her about $5 and told her to take her
brother home.
Sunday, October 16
Tu Duc's Imperial Tomb
I like to live dangerously.
Caught a flight from Hue to Saigon. We stayed at Dokim hotel and I get
there first to check in. Saigon is more like New York. Lot s of young
people, big buildings, lights, it felt more like a modern city
than Hanoi.
I'm really hungry and decided to take a walk and try to grab a bite to
eat. I stepped outside the hotel and a man immediatley flags me down
for a moto ride.
man: Helloooo. How are you?
me: Fine.
man: moto, moto?
me: No thanks, I'm just want to walk around.
man: you want nice girl?
me: Errrr...WTF?!
man: Very nice. Boom boom, sucky sucky.
me: Let me guess, she love me long time. LOL. (walking faster) No thanks.
I lose the guy, a few seconds later this girl on a motorbike pulls up along side me and starts a conversation.
girl: What's your name?
me: Martin
girl: Where are you from?
me: New York.
girl: You want to go with me, I'll take care of you.
At this point I just couldn't believe this was happening. I'm still
walking, she's following me on her bike. I cross the street and she's
still following me.
me: No thanks. I'm just trying to find something to eat.
I don't remember what else she said but she's trying to get me to go
with her and actually grabs my arm. She finally gives up. So I am on
the other side of the street heading back to the hotel when i see
this lady pass by on the back of the motorbike and looks back at me.
The motorbike stops and she hops off and heads towords me. I didn't
even give her a chance to say anything. Put my hand up and said no
thanks and walked fast by her. I was out of my hotel for about 5
minutes, decided to head back and wait for Will. LOL.
Monday, October 17
We booked a half day tour of Saigon for the morning. Our guide was
pretty funny, but not because he meant to be. LOL. Oh man, I mean. He
was born in 1970, and he said he doesn't remember much of the war. His
father was in the army and was put in prison when the Communist took
over. He said he has made peace and accepted the way things are now
under Communism. He was a teacher but had to quit due to health
reasons. He was good guide, had this funny laugh.
War Remnants Museum
I didn't get to do any climbing in Vietnam.
This was so cute! The pink and white things on the baby's arms and legs
are used to cover fruits so that they don't get banged up.
A very big market in Cholon (Chinatown). Narrow ailes with walls and
walls of merchandise. It was like a big 99 cent warehouse. They sold
just about everything.
We found our Halloween costumes. LOL.
Temple in Chinatown.
Lacquer, mother of pearl 4 piece set of traditional symbols of Vietnam.
(Dragon, unicorn, tortoise, phoenix) The guy at the lacquer warehouse
said it cost $120 because of the 3 months of labor and skill put into
it.
No wonder it took them 3 months! Look what we saw behind the store at
the warehouse. Seriously, these things are meticulously hand made. The
guide took us through the different stages of lacquer process.
Hehehehe...
After a tired day of walking around, we went and got a foot and body
massage. $7 USD for 1.5 hours! I didn't like the foot massage. It was
so painful; she was like giving me nooggie (sp?) with her
knuckles on the bottom of my feet.
Tuesday, October 18
Took the day to visit family.
I was actually kind of sad when I left Vietnam; I'm going to miss it.
We arrived in Bangkok Tuesday night. Check in at our hotel and went to
a club up the block from the hotel. There are a lot of 7-Elevens in
Bangkok, I saw about at least 3-4 withing walking distance of our
hotel. Now I know why, cause people are out and about really late. At
2AM the street vendors are still out selling clothes and other
merchandise (brass knucles, knives, sligshot, crossbow), mini street
bars and food vendors set up shop. People are sitting outside eating
and drinking.
At almost every corner, there are motorbike and tuk tuk drivers.
Bangkok is absolutely insane! Vegas has nothing on Bangkok. I'm going
to try to keep this g-rated, so you're going to have to ask if you want
to know more.
Wednesday, October 19
We took a half day tour around the city. Bangkok is a very big city with beautiful grand temples and palaces.
No shoes allowed.
Lying Buddha.
Different Buddha poses.
About $0.05 USD.
We went to get a massage in the afternoon
In the evening, we went to see a cabaret show.
One of the girls in the show. I called her dimples, she's pretty hot,
no. Well actaully, all the girls in the show were at one time
physically guys. That's the main attraction of the show.
Thursday, October 20
Took a tour to see the floating market, about a 2 hour drive out of
Bangkok. On our way there we stopped at this place that made coconut
sugar.
Before we get to the floating market, we take a boat tour through town.
Someone's driveway.
Cooking was also done on the boats...fried bananas, coconut pancakes -those were real good.
The man has a basket at the end of the stick to exchange merchandise for money.
Next stop....the Cobra Show
This was where I witness a cobra being violated to show that it had 2 penises.
Extracting venom.
Guy playing around with a python. 3 people were needed to handle it.
This guy catches a snake with one hand, holds it, catches another snake
with the other hand, hold it, and catches a third snake with his mouth.
All venomous.
Next stop, the teak wood factory.
He's carving out a picture on two huge doors.
Now that takes some serious skills!
Got back into Bangkok by the afternoon. I was tired so I stayed around
the hotel area. Will went to go pick up his tailor made suits, and then
we would meet up later that night to see kick boxing. I hailed a cab,
pointed the place out on the map and we were off. The driver takes me
to the wrong stadium, and on top of that I'm late and stuck in traffic.
I got out, gave him half the fare. The only way to beat this
traffic was by motorbike. I hop on the back and the guy weaves through
tarffic. It was a pretty scary ride because not only was he going fast
weaving in and out, I had shorts, sandals, and no helmet.
This guy was on the receiving end of a Tiger Uppercut and had to be carried out on a stretcher. The fights were pretty exciting.
We went to get a massage after the fight. Yes another massage! You know how much these go for in NY.
Friday, October 21
Damn Will woke me up early cause he was heading out for a day with the
elephants. I might as well get ready and leave for the airport. Oh what
is this...I missed my flight! It was at 12:40 AM Friday. Duh! I thought
it was 12:40 PM. Oh well, another day in Bangkok.
Saw the Grand Palace.
You were not allowed in with shorts, sleeveless shirts or sandals. I
had to deposit money to borrow a pair of pants. I guess they weren't
srtict with the sandals due to the large number of vistors wearing them.
After work rushhour.
Street vendor.
Went and got a massage and then meet up with Will to go to the airport.
As I'm boarding the plane, I overheard 2 women telling the airline employee
at the gate that they saw a man in a green jacket acting suspiciously.
Oh great, I missed my first flight only to end up on a flight with a
suspicious character. I'm in my seat looking around for the guy but
can't see him. I see the 2 women come in and that eased my nerves a
little bit, however I was on guard the the whole flight.
We're about to land and nothing has happened. One of the woman kept
looking back and got me all nervous again. I guess if anything was
going to happen it would be know before the plane lands. I get out my
pen just in case I need it to guage someone's eyes out. I'm not going
without a fight. Plane lands without incident. Announcement to have
your passport check when leaving the plane. Saw airport security
outside and custom agents checking passport. That was weird. Getting my
luggage when I see the man in the green jacket get his bags accompanied
my a customs agent. Why the hell didn't they check him out before the
flight. I get outside in my shorts, tshirt and sandal and it's raining
and cold!
It's good to be back; I was getting a little home sick by the end of
the 2 weeks. I've renewed my committment to speak and learn more
Vietnamese. Actually, I wouldn't mind working there on a short term
basis. Something to look into. I'm actually already thinking about my
next vacation, perhaps South America... Machu Picchu, Cost Rica,
Brazil???
To be continued...
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, but I guess it was a
good thing. Gave me some time to relax and get away and enjoy some
peace and quiet time. Got to finish 
