I Am The Rain Goddess

Distance Traveled:   16,220 kms (BNE-MEL-SYD-BKK-PKT-BKK-CNX-BKK-PP-SR-BB-PP-HCMC-NC-TH-HA-H)

Time Difference: -3 hours (from Brisbane)

Soundtrack:  Remember UB40? My local cafe in Hoi An played them, and sent me on a trip down memory lane and onto iTunes.  Great band.  And the lead singer was so hot, even with the bad 80s hair!

Currently Inspired by:  THIS

Stacks:   I don't know if what happened today counts - see blog content

It’s official.  After two weeks of solid daily rain in Vietnam I am prepared to declare myself a Rain Goddess.  I went to Thailand, and it flooded.  Clearly, I belong to the venerable ranks of such characters as lorry driver Rob McKenna.  The clouds love me!  They want to be near me, and cherish me, and water me.  I appreciate the sentiment and everything, but it’s kind of fucking with my shit. (Excuse the language, Aunty Monica!) 

I was so sad to leave Hoi An.  It’s just beautiful.  I extended my trip there and stayed for a week, mainly  so I could visit a street festival they have on the 14^th and 15^th of each month, only to find out on the 14^th that it was actually the 14^th and 15^th of the month using the Chinese calendar :-/ so I had actually arrived in Hoi An one day after it was actually on.  Help the tourists, people!  We don't use the Chinese calendar!  It didn’t matter though, I had such a wonderful time there.  There really isn’t enough to “see” and “do” in Hoi An for one week, if you are the type of traveller who likes to pack every day with touristy things, but I managed to fill most days with long strolls through the town, stuffing my face with the best food I’ve had since I left home and getting to know the area.  No writing.  I mentioned in my last blog when I had just arrived there that I thought it was very pedestrian friendly (relatively speaking) and that the people were an absolute delight, and that opinion on both counts only strengthened over my time there.  

I had a little local cafe called Solo Restaurant just opposite my hotel, run by a lovely lady call Han.  I got to know her a little because one evening she (mistakenly) thought that someone I was having dinner with was trying to hustle me, and while I was standing out the front having an icecream after dinner she came out and enquired about the situation, and said she was worried about me.  I do enjoy travelling on my own but you do have to be switched on and organised and all over everything all the time cause no one is going to take care of anything for you! And it can get quite lonely at times, particularly because I don’t go out and party like I did the first time I travelled. So to have a total stranger so unexpectedly looking out for me actually brought a tear to my eye.  She was so sweet and happy and a great cook, but I found out that she works there pretty much by herself because she can’t afford to hire someone, so she opens at 6am and works some nights until 2am if she has tourists wanting to stay and drink.  She waitresses, cleans, and does all the cooking.  She also has an eight year old daughter that she and her husband are paying to put through school who comes to the restaurant in the afternoons and the husband also works and then helps out when he can at the restaurant.  She said she hasn’t seen her parents (who live five minutes down the road) for a really long time because all she does and work and sleep, which made me really sad.  Families are a lot closer here.  Now if anyone would have an excuse to be tired and cranky and pissed off with her lot, I would say Han would be a candidate, but she was just always sunny and kind and seemed grateful for the fact that they had jobs and a roof over their heads.  I love meeting people like that.  It always puts things into perspective.  I won’t forget her.  If I’m ever in a position to offer a decent amount of help I will do it.  Even if it’s so she can hire someone for one or two days a week and have some sleep and see her family!

Some of the intact My Son buildings

The main touristy thing I did in Hoi An (apart from getting coats made) was a trip out to the My Son (meesohn)  ruins.  For those of you who didn’t see my furious facebook rant after I visited them, the brief history is as follows:  A series of Hindu temples built mostly to the God Shiva nearly two thousand years by the kings of Champa.  Older than Angkor Wat although not as massive or as beautifully preserved (which I am getting to), lost and then rediscovered by the French in the 1960s, who began to study the construction techniques which are still unknown.  The French decapitated a bunch of the statues and figures and took them back to France, where they are still on display in the Louvre.  Then also in the sixties the Americans received some (incorrect) intelligence that some Viet Cong were hiding out in the temples, and bombed the crap out of them.  This is the point at which they went from being the My Son Temples, to the My Son Ruins.  Some Viet Cong were actually in tunnels under the temples, apparently.  Now those thousands of years of Cham history are gone.  ANYWAY, I have banged about the American government enough lately, we all know what they’re like, they aren’t going to change.   

My Son surrounding area

Moving on...  It isn’t just the remaining temples that are beautiful in this spot.  The surroundings are breathtaking.  Apart from the temples the area seems pretty untouched.  There are gorgeous smelling wildflowers, a clear freshwater stream, huge trees forming natural canopies over paths and some rich green mountains looking down on the ruins.  It feels like a spiritual place.  I could have just sat on a chair and breathed for an hour or so, but unfortunately I was in a guided tour so there was a time limit.

Mother of pearl artisan

We caught a boat back to Hoi An and stopped at a village on the way that produces boats and predominantly wooden art.  We learned a little about boat making: I had no idea that they made the planks of wood hot with a huge fire in order to bend it into shape.  I guess it’s something that I never really thought about, but what a process, especially considering these guys didn’t have any massive pieces of machinery, and they were churning out boats several metres long.  They make the boats with eyes on either side of the front in order to protect them from sea gods or demons, not so the boat can see where it is going, a common misconception.  After that we visited some of the art shops and watched the artisans at work in them, carving statues out of wood and laying tiny shaped pieces of mother of pearl on a background to form a picture.  The guy who was doing the mother of pearl was sitting there with no shoes or gloves and a hand saw, picking up the tiniest pieces and carving into the shape of say, a leaf or a flower and then pasting it onto the board in place.  Every time he had his fingers close to that saw I cringed, but his dexterity was absolutely incredible.

What do you think I wished for?

The Hoi An waterfront at night really has to be experienced by everyone at least once in their lifetime.  It’s just so stunning.  All the shops all the way along both side of the canal string out lanterns in red, yellow, cream and these reflect on the water.  Even in the coldest weather I imagine it would feel warm there.  Vietnamese ladies sit by the water with candles inside brightly coloured paper “boats” with beautiful designs cut into them.  For fifty cents you can buy one, light it, make a wish and then set it afloat on the canal.  My new Canadian friend Cam and I tried a few places along the riverfront for dinner in our last couple of nights.  It’s a shame that photos can’t really do the area justice.  Oh well, you will just have to come and experience it yourself!  You can see more photos from the My Son ruins, the village and the waterfront by clicking here.

Cam and I both took the same Vietnamese cooking class along with a couple of Aussies and a couple of Poms.  It was fun and the people doing it with us were pretty cool, although it couldn’t really touch the experience I had in Thailand.  I had a feeling that that was one of the best ones you could do ANYWHERE.  We did spring rolls again, although they were quite different from the Thai ones I learned.  I do prefer the rice paper ones because they are thinner and crunchier, but the filling in the Thai ones was much nicer.  We also made a Pho – which is that ubiquitous noodle soup they have here, usually for breakfast.  It didn’t taste much like the Pho that I have bought, but I found it really delicious.  It was a beef one, and had ginger and pineapple and peanuts in it.  Delish!  Lastly we made a chicken with lemongrass stir fry which was quite tasty.  All in all I’m glad I had the experience, and I would be keen to try some more Vietnamese cooking at some point if I get the opportunity.  I have to be honest, as nice as everyone has been, I'd like to do a one on one class.  I'd also like to do all of the prep and stuff.  You can see photos of the dishes we made here in my food album, along with a french cake / pastry or two from the boulangerie in town. 

From Hoi An I caught the bus further north to Hue (about four and a half hours) and checked into my VERY nice hotel.  Having seen so many millions of hotels over the years I find most of them pretty unimpressive but this one is lovely.  I am going to miss this standard of accommodation once I have to start paying first world prices!  Hue (pronounced Hway) seems pretty cool.  It’s a fairly large city, but it still retains a friendly, comfortable atmosphere.  The people so far have been almost as genial as they were in Hoi An.  The big draw card here is the Citadel which contains a few palaces and the old Purple Forbidden City.  There are also a bunch of tombs and some temples.  I just can’t see any more temples.  I am leaving tomorrow night on the sleeper train to go to Hanoi but haven’t been to the Citadel yet, because the rain and cold is starting to daunt me a bit with regard to going out and also because yesterday I just felt lazy.  This morning I caught a taxi to the train station to buy my ticket on the sleeper and told him not to wait because I had no idea how long it would take, and when I got out there was nary a taxi to be seen.  So I just set out walking in the direction I thought it was back to my hotel and fortunately was correct.  It took about an hour to get back so, rather inadvertently, I got to walk along the river and see a nice bit of the city, and the clouds were taking a break in their worship of me so I got to do it without rain (it started raining about five minutes after I go back to the hotel!)  

Walking anywhere here is an adventure, but add rain, drooping power lines that are at Asian height to begin with and uncoordination into the mix and it becomes quite the challenge.  I was sort of skipping around large puddles and hopping on and off the road to avoid getting my sneakers wet, and there was a bit of black stuff sticking out of a puddle that I mistook for asphalt and stood on which turned out to be rotten leaves, so I ended up ankle deep in filthy water with my left foot.  I created my own soundtrack for the rest of the way back “Flap, Squelch, Flap, Squelch”.  I sincerely hope that it dries by tomorrow because nothing on God’s green earth could make me pack a damp shoe in my suitcase (I loathe even packing dry ones with everything else, they are all in a million plastic bags) and I may have to donate them to the universe, despite how expensive they were. :(  Fingers crossed!

Hue is known for having some good food, similar to Hoi An.  Everything I have had so far here has been good without being a taste explosion, so I may try a Lonely Planet recommended place tonight rather than just walking around aimlessly as per usual.  Tomorrow is sightseeing, depending on weather, followed by the sleeper train to Hanoi, then a two day one night boat trip around Halong Bay (Rain, as your Master, I Command you to stop for Halong Bay!!) then back to Hanoi for two more days of sightseeing and then London Town for 9 days, to partake of first world conveniences, stock up on stuff that I need, strengthen my mental defenses and get some serious hugs before heading to Morocco for two months.  So this is my last blog from Asia.  What a trip it is has been so far!  I’ve done some really amazing stuff, and am constantly surprised by how incredibly huge the world is.  There are a million more places on my tick list now.  I thought this trip would make the list smaller... HA. HA. HA.

Til Next We Speak

*LOVE*

N