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Todd’s Offline Travel Photo Blog Vietnam May 1 to May 13, 2009

Contents: Saigon for Work (aka: HCMC)....................................................................................................... 2 To Hanoi ....................................................................................................................................... 15 Lavie Vu Linh ............................................................................................................................... 33 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai ........................................................................................................... 113 Lao Cai to Sapa........................................................................................................................... 133 Halong Bay ................................................................................................................................. 143 Back in Hanoi ............................................................................................................................. 200

Saigon for Work (aka: HCMC)

Figure 1 – General map of Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

Hanoi

Figure 2 - IMGP1320 Sunday, 3 May 2009 HCMC First day in country. Photo shows taxis, bikes, & sidewalks. Very few private cars (100%+ tax). "Motorbikes" are almost all small 4 stroke scooters.

Figure 3 - IMGP1323 Sunday, 3 May 2009 HCMC Foreground is the traditional trike where one passenger sits up front in the laid back couch and the driver pedals from above and behind. The only people I saw on these were chubby lazy westerners. IMGP1330.MOV IMGP1330 Sunday, 3 May 2009 HCMC Video of traffic at a rare stoplight. Note how they just flow through each other.

Figure 4 - IMGP1331 Sunday, 3 May 2009 HCMC River just outside hotel. Floating clumps of vegetation traveling down the river. These keep growing as they pass down the river. Far shore is a ferry. Many ferries; pilots drive as "crazy" as scooter drivers, missing other boats by mere feet.

Figure 5 - IMGP1332 Sunday, 3 May 2009 HCMC Same river showing how piles of the floating vine clumps get stuck on the side along with copious quantities of garbage. Rivers, roads, & air highly polluted.

Figure 6 - IMGP1333 Sunday, 3 May 2009 HCMC Same photo but zoomed into the industrial port skyline downstream.

Figure 7 - IMGP1334 Sunday, 3 May 2009 HCMC Photo of 5th floor cafe from 8th floor balcony at night. First class hotel I stayed at for work (booked by customer) costing US$140 per night, not including fees, taxes, service charges, etc.

Figure 8 - IMGP1337 Sunday, 3 May 2009 HCMC Hotel room, with my stuff scattered about. The reason I went to Vietnam is that a work customer hired us to collect some real world data regarding how much top load and vibration their plastic paint buckets were experiencing. Vietnam was supposed to be a very harsh environment that no one really had any published data on. We built some paint buckets that had special sensors installed that could record the loads and vibrations it experienced during transit. We then loaded them on various modes of transport while following them with a video camera to record the road conditions. The idea is that we would either tell the customer, "your buckets are not strong enough and we can engineer them better for you", or tell the customer, "your buckets have more plastic in them than they need and we can do the engineering to tell you were you can take the plastic out without compromising the design.

Figure 9 - IMGP1338 Sunday, 3 May 2009 HCMC Same, with HBO showing Wild, Wild West. The custom instrumented buckets are those with the orange stripes.

Figure 10 – Routes traveled during testing work in Saigon

Figure 11 - IMG_2508 Monday, 4 May 2009 My Phuoc Manufacturing Cafeteria This is the typical lunch served to the factory workers. It is not a lot of food and is not very fancy. My host strongly recommended that I have the hotel put together a “lunch box” for me. He said they do this often as most Westerners can not handle the Vietnamese food. I insisted that I would eat whatever he ate. We went back and forth but I won. This day was not bad. The next day they had little fishes and shrimp. They did not shell the shrimp as they were “small”. You ate the crunchy shell, fins, legs, eyes, and all. Same with the fish. That meal was tough.

Figure 12 - IMG_2522 Wednesday, 6 May 2009 My Phuoc Mfg. to Mekong Delta

We stopped by the side of the road to wait for the truck carrying our instrumented buckets. I wanted a drink so I asked for a 7-up. This was their typical to-go cup. Get a hammer and break a chunk of ice off a block, bag it, pour the drink in, stick a straw in, twist the top of the baggie around the straw, put a rubber band around it, and put the works in another baggie with handles. Lots of people cruised around on their scooters with these hanging from the handlebars.

To Hanoi Thursday, 7 May 2009 Start of vacation So I finished our last trip for work late Wednesday night, packed up all my stuff Thursday morning, and went to see the customer to thank him for his help. I walked across the plaza to a ticket agent for Jet Star Pacifica airlines and bought a round trip ticket to Hanoi that left at 5PM that day for $120. The flight itself was not really any different than our domestic airlines. However, both ways it was delayed; five hours and four hours, respectively. Have the time? Bring a book. Short on time? Go with Vietnam Airlines. They were about twice the money but were not delayed. Being delayed 5 hours put me into Hanoi at about midnight, making getting a hotel room a little more interesting. I told the taxi where to take me. Instead he took me to another address where a man explained that the hotel I wanted was all booked up but that he had a friend at another hotel that had rooms. This sounded remarkably similar to a very common scam run by the cabbies in Hanoi. I told him I would try that after the taxi took me to another hotel I had noted in my guidebook. They had a vacancy so I sent the taxi on. Friday, 8 May 2009 Hanoi The next morning I was off to find the motorbike rental shop. It was raining a bit. Walking down the street wearing an orange poncho, up to my knees in flood water and various street detritus, I finally find it. It was a French place called Compagnie Bourlingue (28 Dao Duy Tu Street, Hanoi, 00(84)4-3926 27 43, www.freewheelin-tours.com). They do lots of tours around the country, mostly doing homestays and other sorts of low impact tourism. They will also cater to those of us who like making our own adventure by renting old 2-stroke Russian Minsk 125cc motorcycles for about $10 per day (w/~$300 deposit). This business is connected with a guy who runs an eco village about half way up to the Chinese border. I wanted to head in that general direction anyway and did not see any better options so it seemed like a good next stop. I should also note that from a Western viewpoint, the traffic in Vietnam is CRAZY! Very few private cars. It is almost all these small, 4-stroke mopeds. Swarms of them. All kinds of variations on the scooter carrying almost everything imaginable. Strike that, rather everything beyond imagination. Each day I would see something being carried on a scooter and would say to myself, "okay, that's crazy. I'm never going to see anything more strange than that." But sure enough, the next day I would see something more crazy. These included things such as sheets of plywood, multiple panes of window glass, complete hub to hub rear solid axle, three cylinder diesel engine block, a six foot tall, four foot wide rack of goldfish in baggies, etc. And all that was just on two wheels. Give them a modified scooter as a trike or a scooter with a trailer and then you can get multiple stacked mattresses, pickup truck loads of 2by4s, dozens of bags of grain or concrete, dozens of 40 foot sticks of rebar bent in U shapes wrapped around the driver, etc. Very few street lights even in the cities. There was really no point as I was unsure of which ones we needed to pay attention to. It really forced you to let go of

your Western perspective on most everything including concepts of right-of-way, personal space, order, lines, lanes, etc. Turning across traffic just looks like a free for all. People just flow through each other. You don't wait for your turn. You just kind of flow or wiggle through. You can't even cross traffic thinking like a Westerner. If you wait for an opening, you'll never cross. You just have to make up your mind that you are going to cross and then just go. You might look out for trucks and maybe taxis but otherwise you just wade out into traffic trusting that it will flow around you. You must keep a consistent pace though. If you hesitate, you'll die. If you try to lunge into an opening, you'll die. It's really like wading through a river full of salmon. They just flow around you. The most important part of your vehicle is your horn. Everybody is beeping at everything all the time. It's not an aggressive or angry or territorial sort of thing. No one's upset or even apparently anxious. It's just a way of communicating, "hey, I'm here, you're here, we're here together." I saw a couple of scooters bump into each other in one of those cross-traffic turns. No angry words or looks. The bumper just backed up a little bit allowing the bumpee to keep going and everyone was happy. I came up with a theory that every intersection there had some sort of chi associated with it and all the locals just know how to tap into it and share understanding of what's going to happen. Anyway, suffice it to say traffic signs are somewhat lacking by our standards. The advice from the French scooter rental guide was WHEN you get lost and decide to ask for directions, don't show anyone the map; they won't understand it. They won't understand the name of the town or the road if you say it because their language is tonal and our accent is just too overpowering; just show them the written word of the town or street. When you ask directions don't just ask one person; ask three. Odds are better you will get a right answer. Needless to say, getting out of Hanoi was an adventure in itself.

Figure 13 – Complete route from Hanoi to Sapa

Figure 14 – Route from Hanoi to Vu Linh

Figure 15 - IMGP1339 Friday, 8 May 2009 North of Hanoi This just shows a shot from some of the rice paddies in the flat land. The clouds, verging on rain, followed me for most of the trip to the North. This stop was actually to immerse myself further into the Vietnamese culture by partaking of the practice of stopping on the side of the road and urinating whenever and wherever the need presents itself regardless of passersby. This I could do (with glee) but I drew the line at picking my nose in public. Guys and women alike would just be goin' deep for gold in the middle of the store or street not thinking a bit about it.

Figure 16 - IMGP1342 Friday, 8 May 2009 North of Hanoi This is a picture taken just before a wide spot in the road that served as a gas station and cafe. The cafe was just a thatched roof pole-barn with a couple picnic tables, a TV, and a small kitchenette in the corner. They knew no English but we were able to communicate by pointing to the ingredients sitting in the kitchen for what they could make for me. Once again Pho but it was not bad. That with their tea cost less than a dollar.

Figure 17 - IMGP1343 Friday, 8 May 2009 North of Hanoi More rice paddies on the same road with the mountains in the background.

Figure 18 - IMGP1344 Friday, 8 May 2009 North of Hanoi This shows the graveyard in the middle of the rice paddies. It was very common for them to have tombs and monuments build in the middle of the paddies.

Figure 19 - IMGP1345 Friday, 8 May 2009 North of Hanoi Another photo showing end of rice paddies and beginning of mountains. This one also shows improvised utility pole near road.

Figure 20 - IMGP1348 Friday, 8 May 2009 North of Hanoi Rice paddies built amongst the foothills of the mountains.

Figure 21 - IMGP1349 Friday, 8 May 2009 North of Hanoi Sweet corn field with sharply rising hill in background.

Figure 22 - IMGP1350 Friday, 8 May 2009 North of Hanoi Massive limestone outcropping foothills

Figure 23 - IMGP1351 Friday, 8 May 2009 North of Hanoi Rice field workers with their water buffalo.

Figure 24 - Friday, 8 May 2009 North of Hanoi

Brick kiln

Figure 25 - IMGP1353 Friday, 8 May 2009 North of Hanoi Burning brick kiln and associated brick making operation.

Figure 26 - IMGP1354 Friday, 8 May 2009 North of Hanoi Water buffalo grazing with kilns in background.

Figure 27 - IMGP1355 Friday, 8 May 2009 North of Hanoi Typical roadside shop. Fabricating gates, shelves, etc

Figure 28 - IMGP1356 Friday, 8 May 2009 North of Hanoi Same roadside shop. Stick welding metal gates. The welder is wearing a small pair of welding goggles and a dust mask but note no gloves. Cute puppy watches (loosing vision).

Lavie Vu Linh

Figure 29 - IMGP1357 Friday, 8 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh Eco-lodge About five or six hours after I left Hanoi I've arrived at the Vu Linh Village. This is the view of and from my "room". It consists of a mattress with some bedding on the floor, a small floor lamp, a mosquito net, drapes that can be pulled on three sides, and a "window" propped open by a pole that can be lowered. Nothing fancy here but totally sufficient. My "room" is part of a larger room with about a dozen other similar "rooms" sleeping the French teacher/facilitator, the village chief, his wife, a couple workers, and a few other guests. This was set up as an self-sustaining enterprise or eco-lodge type place. It is only about a year old. The concept is that the locals apply to the "school" where they work learning skills like carpentry, masonry, electric wiring, plumbing, cooking, guest services, and speaking English. They get paid for their work but also learn the skills in the process. The village is made up of one of the many Northern ethnic minority tribes (the name literally translated means "white pants"). Many of these tribes refused to support the VC or NVA during the "American war".

Figure 30 - IMGP1358 Friday, 8 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh Eco-lodge View from upper balcony toward the North. I'm leaning on a bamboo railing laced with LED tube lights. The structure in the water is a large fish net. They will turn on a fluorescent light suspended above the water at dusk and just before dawn they will raise the net to capture the fish that were attracted to the light during the night. These were pretty small, usually no bigger than a few inches in length.

Figure 31 - IMGP1359 Friday, 8 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh Eco-lodge This is the same balcony but looking toward the South. They were in the process of building their own catamaran type sail boat. The water level is substantially down from where it normally is due to how the dam is controlled.

Figure 32 IMGP1360 Friday, 8 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh Eco-lodge View of the lake looking straight out.

Figure 33 - IMGP1357 Friday, 8 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh Eco-lodge Person rowing a covered foot row boat. All of the row boats on this lake were set up where the driver sat up on a platform and rowed the boat with their feet, leaving their hands free to work their nets or other fishing equipment. These boats are very unstable even if you are sitting on the floor but are made even more so being in an elevated seat. It takes lots of skill to work the paddles with your feet while maintaining balance. I asked what they did with the covered boats. The French guy explained that some people live in them because they don't have houses, some only sleep in them when they travel for work, some just use to cover their "goods", and some use it as a place to take a woman who is not their wife. To which we cynically laughed agreeing that people are the same everywhere.

Figure 34 - IMGP1363 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Village market near Lavie Vu Linh Saturday morning was the village market day so we went in so the staff could shop for groceries and the like. The woman in this stall was selling something but she was too shy to let me take her photo so I took one of the bull and chickens wandering loose instead.

Figure 35 - IMGP1364 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Village market near Lavie Vu Linh Taking photos of people in this market was generally considered tacky and I could tell it would make the locals uncomfortable. This is one that I snuck off while rounding a corner. Every aisle (maybe 10 aisles) had it's own theme; clothes, shoes, butchered meats, veggies, rice, and in this case, fish and seafood. They lay down small plastic sheets and then spread out their fresh catch on the ground. Everyone has little hand cast or pewter scales for determining price. Lots of the women wear the traditional cone field hat. Most of these had plastic covers to shield the rain as well as the sun. Nobody brings chairs as everyone squats.

Figure 36 - IMGP1365 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Village market near Lavie Vu Linh This women let me take a picture of her with her baby chicks.

Figure 37 - IMGP1366 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Between village market and Lavie Vu Linh This is nutty me taking a picture of myself while cruising down the road home from the village market. Behind me you can see the handle of the traditional Vietnamese machete I bought for around US$3 at the market.

Figure 38 - IMGP1367 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Between village market and Lavie Vu Linh Three water buffalo "mowing" the grass on the side of the road. This was very common in the countryside. They mow down the grass, switching sides of the road as they desire. Wherever you saw a water buffalo, you would find a child or an old woman near by making sure they did not just run off.

Figure 39 - IMGP1368 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh This is a shot of my Russian Minsk at the entrance to the Ngoi Tu village that Lavie Vu Linh is a part of. This is a very light 125cc two-stroke motorcycle (mix oil and gas). This is considered by the Vietnamese to be the "mule of the mountains" and is respected as a very strong motorcycle. It is commonly referred to as the AK47 of motorcycles. Dual shock suspension front and rear, cable operated drum brakes front and rear, this is an extremely simple machine that is easily field serviceable. In fact the guide was showing me what to do if the electrical system was giving me troubles. Turns out that when the Vietnamese got their hands on these, they retrofitted each one with redundant electrical system components including plug wire, coil, coil controller, and electronics boxes. If it stopped working he showed me four different ways that I could reconnect the wires to try to make it work. Note how the kick starter and the shift lever are on the same shaft.

Figure 40 - IMGP1369 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh Front view of the bike. It had a front fender mud flap but as you can see from the headlight, I was always dirty on this bike. I switched from jeans or track pants to shorts just so it was easier to clean up afterward.

Figure 41 - IMGP1370 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh Bike with the neighbor's house across the street. Note the absence of any expansion pipe coming out of the engine cylinder. Also note how the chain is completely sealed inside rubber tubular boots. Being Russian, the bikes were fairly cheaply built. The handlebars were only held on by three small bolts that looked like eye bolts. The resort host was taking one of his employees back to the lodge with the groceries while I waited here. The road back was a bit hilly and muddy (slick red clay) so he dumped the bike once and bent the handle bars. He rode it like that until he got to town where he stopped into a mechanic's shop. I asked him why we were stopping and he explained the handle bars to me. Before the mechanics could get over there, I took the front tire between my knees and grabbing the handlebars from the front, gave them a little tug and they easily bent back into place. Fixed. He looked at me like I was a magician. The international Minsk club web site has a banner / motto that says "In Minsk we trust". I thought the expression might be a little sacrilegious until I realized that the very act of getting on this machine and blasting along mountain roads implies a belief in a wise, benevolent, and love sick creator.

Figure 42 - IMGP1371 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh This is a photo from the road showing the terraced rice field. Faintly you can see the bamboo poles lashed together serving as utility poles for the village electrical power feed.

Figure 43 - IMGP1372 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh More water buffalo mowing grass on the road.

Figure 44 - IMGP1373 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh More terraced rice fields.

Figure 45 - IMGP1374 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh Close up of rice plants. The process of growing and harvesting rice is a very manual labor intensive process. The rice must first be grown from seed to small plant, then dug up by hand individually and replanted individually in a new field to avoid root rot issues. More industrial equipment is being used now with the current prosperity but it is still a very much hands on operation.

Figure 46 - IMGP1375 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh Ditto.

Figure 47 - IMGP1376 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Near Lavie Vu Linh This is a small waterfall a couple miles from the lodge at a place the students named "Beautiful Bar". A girl wades in to clean off her legs/feet. Note the large boulder at the top of the falls.

Figure 48 - IMGP1377 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Near Lavie Vu Linh Just a large water bug I found on the edge of the bottom of the falls.

Figure 49 - IMGP1378 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Near Lavie Vu Linh There was a light drizzle on this day so the lodge host waited for me at the bar while I hiked up to the top of the falls. The "bar" also doubled as a gas station. A typical rural gas station consisted of a 10 gallon metal can with a clear glass bowl on top to which was connected a hose that you would aim into your gas tank. The station owner would come out and operate a manual hand pump that would pump gas from the metal can into the glass bowl and then allow it to run down the tube into your motorcycle. Not sure how they measured the amount.

Figure 50 - IMGP1379 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Near Lavie Vu Linh I was a little slow taking this photo on our way back to the lodge from the bar. There is a kid on a motorbike dragging these two long bamboo poles behind him. The poles were secured to the rear edge of the seat of his motorbike with a few wraps of electrical tape.

Figure 51 - IMGP1380 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh This is a photo of the eco-lodge taken from the water's edge with the homemade sail boat in the foreground.

Figure 52 - IMGP1381 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh This is a closeup of one of their foot powered row boats typically used on this lake.

Figure 53 - IMGP1382 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh This is a typical larger motor boat. The boat is made of steel with the exception of the roof which is a sandwich of weaved palm fronds and plastic tarp. The motor is just a typical car engine with a propeller attached to the transmission output.

Figure 54 - IMGP1383 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh Closeup of my dirty Russian Minsk.

Figure 55 - IMGP1384 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh Closeup of my dirty Russian Minsk.

Figure 56 - IMGP1385 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh This was the combination planer / table saw that they used for making their own lumber and cutting the boards. Both the planer and the saw blade are always exposed and running at the same speed.

Figure 57 - IMGP1386 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh another shot of the planer / saw.

Figure 58 - IMGP1387 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh This is the output shaft coming out of the rear of the steel boat.

Figure 59 - IMGP1388 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh this shows the large flywheel attached to the motor allowing it to idle very very slowly.

Figure 60 - IMGP1389 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh This is the front of the motor showing the steering handle and other parts.

Figure 61 - IMGP1390 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh

This is an old fish trap I found on shore. It is a hand-woven basket. They don't usually catch fish with these but other little critters like prawns, etc.

Figure 62 - IMGP1391 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh One end of the trap is open but is usually plugged with a wooden stopper of some sort.

Figure 63 - IMGP1392 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh This is the other end of the basket showing how multiple inverted cones or funnels with pointed teeth allow the critters to enter but make it much more difficult to leave.

Figure 64 - IMGP1393 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh This shows one of the traps set up under water in front of the lodge. A guy dragging a small boat behind him wades along the shore checking these about every 10 feet or so each day. He is not affiliated with the resort in any way. The idea of property rights and territorialism really does not exist there. So long as you don't get in the way of what someone else is doing, it is not generally a big deal. IMGP1394.MOV IMGP1394 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Going to Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh This is a video of me on a rural road heading to a hiking spot.

Figure 65 - IMGP1395 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh

The French host of the lodge had offered to take me hiking on a trail they had found. However, it had been drizzling on and off for a couple of days now and the lodge driveway had become fairly slippery and treacherous. The host did not think he or the local kid they employed had the riding skill to make it up to the mountain. The kid agreed to make me a map of how to get there. The host looked at the map, raised his eyebrows, looked at me and said, "You will get lost but you should have a good time regardless." He said not to be afraid to explore pretty much any trail I found, again citing the lack of any notion of personal property rights. I did get a little lost a couple of times but eventually found the place that the host had described to me, or at least something that looked remarkably similar. This is me with my Minsk, refreshed from blasting through several miles of muddy, potholed dirt roads, and impressed that I actually found the place. This is a pasture just below the start of the mountain jungle.

Figure 66 - IMGP1396 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh

This is looking up the hill to the left of where I drove the bike in. It is probably about 1000 feet to the top of the mountain. Note how the jungle grows on anything except the vertical rock face.

Figure 67 - IMGP1397 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh

Looking up the mountain from where the bike is parked. The center is the waterfall from the stream. The trail I rode in on led to a little farmette on the left. Not seeing a clearly defined trail, I decide to head straight up the mountain via the grassy section above the motorcycle.

Figure 68 - IMGP1398 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh I've hiked a fair amount up the mountain on that aforementioned "grassy strip" and paused to catch my breath. Also, I'm contemplating the reality of the slope being steep enough now that if I slip, I will not stop tumbling for several hundred feet. The Minsk is just off frame to the lower left. In the center is the farmette. To the right are some workers, probably barefoot, clearing the jungle from the hillside expanding the farm. Again, from the center of HCMC to the most rural hamlet, everyone is building and expanding.

Figure 69 - IMGP1399 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh

Zoomed out showing distant foothills and rice fields.

Figure 70 - IMGP1400 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh Another shot of the workers clearing the jungle for fields.

Figure 71 - IMGP1401 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh

This shows the near vertical face of the mountain above where the workers are clearing the field. Trying to provide a better geometric perspective. IMGP1402.MOV IMGP1402 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh This is a video of me perched on the side of the mountain.

Figure 72 - IMGP1403 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh Some jungle flower photos for my Mom.

Figure 73 - IMGP1404 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh More jungle flowers for Mom.

Figure 74 - IMGP1405 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh Jungle plants can be above you on the food chain!

Figure 75 - IMGP1406 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh I do eventually find the trail. This shows a photo of the trail above me crossing over a recent land slide.

Figure 76 - IMGP1409 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh Beautiful rugged jungle mountain ridge after ridge after ridge....

Figure 77 - IMGP1410 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh Little white trail flowers, again for Mom.

Figure 78 - IMGP1411 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh

Waterfall meets trail....

Figure 79 - IMGP1412 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh

Opening in trail revealing more jungle covered and cloud shrouded mountain peaks. This is about the point where I loose the trail. Every time that the trail came back to the stream bed, it was very difficult to pick it up again. It would follow the bed for a little bit an then take off through a camouflaged exit back into the jungle. I would walk up the stream, turn around, backtrack, and go back and forth a couple of times looking for the trail. Usually, I would give up and hoping I could remember the other trail crossings, would head back down the mountain. Just as I would be looking for the trail exit, I would spot a sandal print in the mud on the side of the trail. It had rained the day previous so I knew it was fresh that day. This would always lead me to the place where the trail departed the stream bed and continued further up the mountain. This photo was taken about the point that I lost the trail completely. I knew that the trail must continue as it was supposed to lead to a remote mountain top village (the locals don't hike for fun). I knew, given enough time I could find it but I also knew that I did not leave the lodge until about 2pm, I had been hiking for two to three hours, was low on water, and needed to get back before it got dark (6 or 6:30 PM). Sad to say, I gave up trying to find the source of those illusive sandal tracks but had a good climb anyway.

Figure 80 - IMGP1413 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh

"Trail" crosses stream on slippery log...

Figure 81 - IMGP1414 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh

Another slimy jungle ravine....

Figure 82 - IMGP1415 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh

Example of an established jungle trail...

Figure 83 - IMGP1416 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh

Peeking through the jungle canopy....

Figure 84 - IMGP1418 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh This view from high up on the mountain shows the foothills and the rice paddies lining the road from the village up to the trail.

Figure 85 - IMGP1420 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh

Another view with the farmette in the distance.

Figure 86 - IMGP1421 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh

Me below a little waterfall on the trail on my way back down the mountain. IMGP1422.MOV IMGP1422 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Mountains West of Lavie Vu Linh This is a video of me riding down another rural road on my way back to the lodge.

Figure 87 - IMGP1423 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh Having returned to the lodge just before sundown and before dinner was fixed, I decide to swim from the lodge over to the nearest island. This is looking back toward the lodge from the island.

Figure 88 - IMGP1424 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh Once on the island I see two other objects making their way toward me.

Figure 89 - IMGP1425 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh Turns out it is a water buffalo and her calf.

Figure 90 - IMGP1426 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh Here they are again. The low light conditions made getting good photos challenging.

Figure 91 - IMGP1427 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh Same two but using an improvised camera tripod for a longer exposure time w/o flash.

Figure 92 - IMGP1428 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh Shooting back towards the lodge with the tripod.

Figure 93 - IMGP1429 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh Some kid in a rowboat was probably acting as a shepherd for the water buffalo and decided to check me out too.

Figure 94 - IMGP1432 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh Buffalo like the fresh green shoots exposed by the recently lowered lake water level. I ended up leaving the island swimming to shore about the same time as the water buffalo left for the same shore. Before I was half way back, I looked up and they had already emerged from the water on the other shore. They are REALLY good swimmers!

Figure 95 - IMGP1433 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh This is as we are ending our dinner. We always ate sitting on the floor cross legged with the food also on the floor. Center is the village chief. His wife is to the right. Note her black teeth. they chew on the bark of a certain tree to make their teeth black and it is considered a sign of beauty (didn't do it for me). The pitcher of clear liquid is what they called "rice wine". It had a bit more zing in it than wine so I suspect it was further distilled making it some sort of rice liquor or moonshine. I was not going to partake but the younger men were giving me a hard time. I was worried I was offending them so I sipped the equivalent of maybe two shots. I found out later it would not have been offensive; they were just giving me a hard time like any blue collar country redneck would. Oh well. People are the same everywhere.

Figure 96 - IMGP1434 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh The guy to the far right was one of the carpenters while the guy he is talking to was one of the students who was learning the host's entertaining responsibilities; cooking, cleaning, shopping, and other jobs as they come up including learning English and French. The little cup by his toes was the rice wine glass each person had. Drinking here was not just drinking; it was an experience in communal celebration. You never drank alone. Someone would call out in a loud voice, "Bozao!" To which everyone would put down their chopsticks or soup bowl, pick up their cup and return with an enthusiastic "Bozao!" Loosely translated it is similar to our "cheers". Everyone drinks, emptying their cup and setting it back down on the floor/table. Then you have to grab your right bicep with your left hand and shake hands with everyone around the table/floor saying "How-may-do!" Not sure what this means but I think it is some form of "bottoms up" or "empty glass". This feels a little dumb to us Americans in that if you want to drink, just drink. Show off that you are drinking more than everyone. Not here. This keeps everyone together. Several times I was teased for not emptying my glass. They really do know how to celebrate. Apparently, they were very mild while I was there but things often get very happy, regardless of whether there are visitors or not. They really know how to party. Sometimes the visitors get a little too intoxicated but this is usually taken in stride. One time a customer got so trashed that he wandered off the lodge. Early the next morning he came stumbling back with a live chicken under his

arm. Turns out he had wandered across the street and passed out in a neighbors chicken pen. The neighbors had seen him there and left him to sleep it off. Apparently, he woke up on his own still quite intoxicated and thought it would be a good idea to have a chicken to keep him company. So he took one and came back to the lodge, again passing out once he got back. Everyone thought it was very funny and the chicken was returned.

Figure 97 - IMGP1435 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh The guy on the left is the lodge host who is clapping along to a rhythm / rap that the other French guy is playing on his iPod stereo and dancing to. He was crazy funny! He spent four days up here, went back to Hanoi for a few days, ran across this Vietnamese guy who was looking to take his hot French chick on a cool trip. So he led them up here for a couple days more. Very funny, high energy guy.

Figure 98 - IMGP1437 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh This is me feeling my first little buzz in 14 years stepping away from the action and taking a couple of photos w/o flash of the setup. Lunch and dinners were had in the room to the upper left, kitchen is in the upper right, bedrooms are off the screen to the right, wood shop is in the lower left, and the bar is to the lower right.

Figure 99 - IMGP1438 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh Another photo of intoxicated Frenchies dancing above the wood shop area.

Figure 100 - IMGP1439 Saturday, 9 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh I found a big toad.

Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai

Figure 101 – Route from Vu Linh to Lao Cai to Sapa

Figure 102 - IMGP1440 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai After a wonderful stay at Lavie Vu Linh, I headed up to Loa Cai to catch the train that would take me back to Hanoi. Rather than doing a little backtracking to get to a major road, I just took this back road North that would eventually connect with the main road to Hanoi. This photo shows an example of the French colonial architecture with the steep rugged huge mountain peaks immediately behind it.

Figure 103 - IMGP1441 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai This shows an interesting example of the Vietnamese creativity. The traditional ladder utility pole carrying the lines parallel to the road is made of concrete. Just in front of that is one that is also common in the back-country where two bamboo poles are tied together. This same support caries a water line over the road. Whatever it takes....

Figure 104 - IMGP1442 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai Once again, I decided to pull off to the side of the road to enjoy the Vietnamese tradition of relieving your bladder whenever and wherever it is convenient. A butterfly was nearby keeping me company. I decided to take a few photos of it for my Mom.

Figure 105 - IMGP1443 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai Here's a better one of the butterfly.

Figure 106 - IMGP1444 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai Yet another of my winged visitor.

Figure 107 - IMGP1445 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai And another...

Figure 108 - IMGP1446 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai One more. Love you Mom!

Figure 109 - IMGP1447 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai

This one shows "clouds" rising from the jungle on the side of the hill. The road routinely changes from pavement to dirt to dirty pavement.

Figure 110 - IMGP1448 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai As I mentioned, sometimes the road is a little dirty. :) Crocs (actually their $10 knockoffs) are great! Shorts on a motorcycle: dumb idea but easy to clean afterward. IMGP1449.MOV IMGP1449 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai A video of a really nice new road under construction on my way to Lao Cai. IMGP1450.MOV IMGP1450 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai Not sure these guys wanted me to take this video but I was quick about it. They were stuck for a little while but I thought the "tractor" was interesting. This one was for my Dad as it looks a little like one of our tillers from the hobby farm I grew up on.

Figure 111 - IMGP1451 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai This is the main road that heads to Lao Cai. The government is dumping huge amounts of money into construction now and this road is in the process of being expanded to a nice four lane pavement road. The motorcyclist is the one and only biker I found that decided to run as fast or faster than me. During all my motorcycling in the US and Costa Rica I adopted a rule that served me very well: always keep moving forward in traffic so people don't loose you and you move past people before they can make a dumb move. I applied the same rule here. We stopped once and talked but neither of us knew any of the other's language. This was a case of being able to understand a universal language. When he pulled alongside me, the universal "lets race" was communicated quite clearly. He would creep away from me on the pavement because he trusted his tires more than I but when we hit the construction dirt patches, I would blast by him. Apparently, no one in Vietnam knows how to stand on the bike to keep from bouncing off the seat. Fun!

Figure 112 - IMGP1452 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai We were racing along quite nicely until we hit this funeral. When someone dies everyone comes out and walks with the casket to the burial site. Everyone, pretty much means EVERYONE in the village or town. There is a carrying of torches and playing of music. Keep in mind that this is THE main road to the Chinese border. Traffic must just either wait or find a way to squeeze around. The importance of this event can be better understood when you realize that the dominant religions are Buddhism and Confucianism which are often combined with a strong emphasis on ancestor worship.

Figure 113 - IMGP1453 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai So I pass the group on the outside and then stop a ways in front to get this photo. Not sure what proper protocol is or if I was being tacky but it was a very unique sight in a location that most tourists will never get to. The motorcyclist I was racing with took off but I thought it was a unique event to witness.

Figure 114 - IMGP1454 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai I pushed really hard to catch my fellow racing partner. I caught up with him and we had several kilometers of fun until we came to this corner. Apparently, the Vietnamese truck drivers will need some time to get used to the new roads. This is a mountain road with a steep grade. It seems that either the driver was just going too fast or his brakes just overheated and locked up causing him to loose control and tip over. This is a 22-wheel, six-axle truck. Hopefully no scooters were in the other lane on this corner. Note the kids playing on the underside of the truck. This time I lost my riding companion for good.

Figure 115 - IMGP1455 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai

This shows how the driver got lucky by tipping over in some guy's driveway. The rest of the road was pretty steep terrain that would have probably resulted in him taking a bit of a tumble.

Figure 116 - IMGP1456 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai I think he tipped over in front of some sort of Buddhist shrine, temple, or funeral home. Ironic, no? :)

Figure 117 - IMGP1457 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai I have been cleaning off my headlight routinely but it keeps getting caked in mud. I have tied on all my wet clothes to the outside of my pack in the hope that they will dry off as I blast down the road. It ended up being a bit of a paradox; the clothes on the outside of the pack mostly dried but got muddy from the road while those on the inside of the pack stayed wet but clean aside from the beginnings of mildew.

Figure 118 - IMGP1458 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai This is the same corner that the 22-wheel truck rolled over. I saw this truck racing down the mountain and thought it would be a good picture to illustrate a bit of the cultural mindset about these things. He is carrying huge chunks of limestone that will likely be crushed for gravel. He has a tarp over the load which was an unusual safety precaution but note how it is filled as full as physically possible. They know when they reach this point by over-filing the trucks and letting the excess fall off in transit. Quite common and completely acceptable.

Figure 119 - IMGP1459 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai Both trucks in the same photo. Again, this is not the exception.

Figure 120 - IMGP1459 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lavie Vu Linh to Lao Cai This is almost a good picture of Lao Cai across the river. This is all mountainous territory. Lao Cai is right on the Southern Chinese border. It is a very active border but has all the characteristics of a "border town"; kind of dirty, poor infrastructure, etc. There is a train that runs from this town to Hanoi; however, you can not buy a train ticket in this town; they will not sell you one. You have to go to a tourist-trap town 40km (25mi) away and it is all uphill on winding mountain roads. The town is called Sapa and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Vietnam (think of a Vietnamese version of Gatlinburg / Pigeon Forge or Wisconsin Dells).

Lao Cai to Sapa

Figure 121 - IMGP1462 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lao Cai to Sapa The road to Sapa, while dangerous, is absolutely beautiful. Most every mountainside is terraced rice fields.

Figure 122 - IMGP1463 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lao Cai to Sapa Those that can not be farmed are overtaken by mountain jungle. Note that the only places not covered in jungle are the vertical rock faces.

Figure 123 - IMGP1464 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lao Cai to Sapa

This photo shows more of the farm "fields" on the opposite side of the valley. Again, when the farmers work these fields there are no tractors, trucks, or even sandals as even sandals would slip too much at these angles. It is all worked by hand and barefoot. A very tough people.

Figure 124 - IMGP1465 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lao Cai to Sapa

Once again, what appears to be steep mountainside is in fact farm land; some terraced, some not.

Figure 125 - IMGP1466 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lao Cai to Sapa

More beautiful farm "fields". It was about this point that I saw the craziest thing I ever saw in Vietnam. Often people will be walking down the road with bundles of bamboo. Perhaps for firewood, who knows. In this case, two kids decided to weave their bundles into "rafts" measuring about two feed by four feet. They then affixed something like skate wheels to the underside. I assume they decided that laying on these rafts and riding them like a surf board (on their bellies) was a much more efficient way of getting the bamboo down the mountain. This was really cool to watch except for the oncoming traffic (me) in the other lane and the fact that they were being followed by an overloaded dump truck approximately 30 feet behind them.

Figure 126 - IMGP1467 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lao Cai to Sapa Yet another photo of my beloved Minsk bike with my pack and improvised clothes line. You have to understand, it got up to 95 degrees during the day and never really dropped below 90% relative humidity. I don't mind wet clothes but hate to have to throw them out due to mildew when my fashion conscious friends have gone through such effort to pick them out for me. :)

IMGP1469.MOV IMGP1469 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Lao Cai to Sapa Another video from my bike on the road heading up to Sapa.

Figure 127 - IMGP1470 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Sapa Sapa was built in 1922 as a hill station retreat for the French during their colonial occupation (1847 to 1954). It is a beautiful escape from the heat and humidity of the coastal lowlands comprising much of Vietnam. It fell to the wayside after the French during the American war but has since been revitalized with the advent of tourism. It is a culture rich in the Montagnard mountain people and minority tribes people (note: held no particular allegiance to the NVA during the war and supported much of America's efforts in the area). The minority tribes in this area pride themselves on their brightly colored clothing. Everyone sells some sort of high impact tourism in this area. Billed as "treks to homestays in minority villages", these end up being routine and have forever changed the culture in this area. Hotels have sprung up like mushrooms. The "indigenous mountain people" lurk about the streets like hungry coyotes. Seeing you as a Westerner, they will harass you to buy one of their brightly colored garments (watercolor dye) speaking better English than most of their countrymen. If you walk into a business to eat or get a hotel, they will try to talk to you through the window glass and

will wait for you to come out. I guess if you buy something that particular person will let you go. However, I think this is much like feeding the wild animals in a park. Eventually, it will breed an familiarity that leads to unfortunate consequences.

Figure 128 - IMGP1471 Sunday, 10 May 2009 Sapa This is a photo across a city park looking towards downtown Sapa and all of it's associated hotels. This spot was peaceful; going downtown was not. I went to the ET Pumpkin Cafe & Hotel to get a ticket on one of the sleeper cars they operate on the train from Lao Cai to Hanoi. The girl told me that there was a place for me on the 7: 20PM train but my bike would have to wait for the 9PM train. I took it (for US$48). Unfortunately, I had less than 1 hour to make it down this twisty mountain road to the rail station in Lao Cai, get my ticket, deposit my bike, and get on the train. It was fun racing back down the mountain except that I was on the Minsk. You motorcyclists know in the US it is great grabbing a fist full of brake and feeling the bike suck down into the corner, dragging your foot peg or knee, rolling on the throttle at the apex to launch yourself into the next corner. I have to tell you it is an entirely different experience to lean over and grab a fist full of cable-operated drum brakes on a very flexible, steel framed, de-tuned, two stroke machine with a 40lb pack strapped to the back. Let's put it this way: if Jesus wanted to take me back, he had plenty of

opportunity.

Halong Bay

Figure 129 – Route from Hanoi to Halong Bay

Airport

Halong City

Cat Ba Island

Figure 130 - IMGP1472 Monday, 11 May 2009 Hanoi

I got to Lao Cai just in time (after bribing a street checkers player to lead me to the station), dropped off the bike, and fought my way onto the train. I bunked with a Vietnamese man who knew no English, a married Turkish woman who spoke very good English, and a very attractive spandex body-suit clad Aussie girl. I had a good time flirting with both the women after taking a sponge bath in the box car lavatory (maybe twice the size of an airplane toilet). However, I ended up sleeping most of the trip back. Both women said they could barely sleep a wink but I slept like a baby. I've decided the only thing I like better than sleeping on a plane is sleeping on a train. Oh yea, the point of this was a shameless promo for all my friends in the Tristate Hiking Club (Meetup.com). I took the photo in the Hanoi train station Monday morning.

Figure 131 - IMGP1474 Monday, 11 May 2009 Hanoi to Halong Bay

I rode the bike part way back to the French rental place (ran out of gas due to train security people siphoning it off requiring me to push it the rest of the way; Minsk, I love you because you are very light). When I got there I asked them if I had time to run over to Halong Bay. They said I did but that I would arrive late. I took off and rode like the Devil. This is one photo taken over a nice bridge on the way.

Figure 132 - IMGP1475 Monday, 11 May 2009 Hanoi to Halong Bay This is the same bridge but taking a picture of all the river traffic.

Figure 133 - IMGP1476 Monday, 11 May 2009 Hanoi to Halong Bay I'm getting closer to Halong Bay and decided to take a picture of the limestone islands as I was driving along a coastal road.

Figure 134 - IMGP1477 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay IMGP1477 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay :) So I get in to the town of Bai Chay (West side of Halong City; East side is a town called Hon Gai which is basically a dirty strip mine) about 2PM. I find a hotel (Thanh Hue Hotel, ~US$10/night, thanks Lonely Planet!), get checked in, and head back down to the Tourist Dock. Now normally, I avoid anything associated with "tourist" but I know I have arrived late and am traveling independently. So I figure this is my best bet to find a evening cruise of the bay. I go to the official ticket office and they tell me they have sold out all their cruises for the day. They tell me I could charter my own boat for something between US$60 and US$120. I tried this from a couple different angles with a couple of different people but kept getting the same response. So, knowing that this price was insanely expensive for Vietnam, I decided to walk away and figure out some other arrangements. I walked along the docks and found a couple of random Vietnamese women who seemed like locals, one of which was very attractive. I put on my most charming smile and ask them if the know English. Jackpot! I've been in Vietnam long enough to know that everybody knows somebody and there are many ways to get things done. So I present my dilemma to these fine young ladies and ask if perhaps they can help me find a boat to take me out for a few hour tour of the islands. They went to work and got me onto a boat for a 3 hour tour costing about 200,000 Vietnamese dong or US$12. I offered to take the attractive woman who arranged the

tour back to the US with me afterward but apparently she either forgot or something got lost in translation. :) Oh well. This is a photo on the boat from the main covered cabin facing forward.

Figure 135 – Approximate tour boat route in Halong Bay

Cat Ba Island

Hang Dao Go

Figure 136 - IMGP1478 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay This is the same boat but looking the other way. The kitchen room is behind the wall. It was quite interesting noticing how the entertainment center was set up with the latest in DVD and stereo entertainment center technology. My guess is the captain and his crew more or less live on this boat. Two guys (gay or not, I'm not sure) had chartered this boat for themselves and my coastal bride had arranged for me to join them. There were two other guys and on girl who seemed to make up the captain's crew. The girl was cute. She knew a few words in English. I tried to have a conversation with her but we ran into a vocabulary incompatibility issue. Wanting to have a conversation, I whipped out my Vietnamese - English / English - Vietnamese dictionary. While this did not lead to much of a meaningful conversation, she was fascinated with the dictionary. It kept her entertained for most of the trip.

Figure 137 - IMGP1479 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay This is a view off the deck of some of the other boats docked at the "Tourist Dock". I understand some of these offer sleep-overs with kayak trips. The best place to organize these in advance is Handspan Adventure Travel (www.handspan.com) but I'm sure you can arrange something on your own independently.

Figure 138 - IMGP1480 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay

This is a photo of the pilot's cabin from the upper deck. Mainly, I took this photo so that the people who found my body and camera would have the ship's registration number if something went wrong. :)

Figure 139 - IMGP1481 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay Again, more photos of other boats in the bay as we are taking off.

Figure 140 - IMGP1482 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay Yet another photo of the boats highlighting the mountain/islands in the background.

Figure 141 - IMGP1483 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay

This is a photo of the hatch leading to the engine room beneath the hull. I think the exhaust was just released to the hull and allowed to permeate out the hatch.

Figure 142 - IMGP1485 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay

Another photo of the engine. The exhaust smoke was escaping through many cracks in the hull near the kitchen room above it.

Figure 143 - IMGP1486 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay This is the closest island to Halong City.

Figure 144 - IMGP1487 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay This is the leading edge of the island closest to Halong City.

Figure 145 - IMGP1488 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay Yet another photo of the leading edge of the first island highlighting the eagles common to the islands.

Figure 146 - IMGP1489 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay Approaching the first major island from the shore. This is the home of Hang Dao Go ("cave of the wooden stakes"). This was a large, fairly commercialized cave (multicolored lights, steps with hand rails, souvenir shop) but was still neat to walk through, given the short notice. There are thousands of caves among these islands so if you have transportation and the right climbing/caving gear, you can find as much adventure as you need.

Figure 147 - IMGP1490 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay

Photo to the right side of the dock. IMGP1491.MOV IMGP1491 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay Video of the island as we approach it.

Figure 148 - IMGP1492 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay, Hang Dao Go Photo just inside of cave entrance shooting down toward a lower level of the cave.

Figure 149 - IMGP1493 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay, Hang Dao Go

Me posing in front of a somewhat man-made display.

Figure 150 - IMGP1494 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay, Hang Dao Go Shooting up from the bottom of the cave path toward an opening to the upper right.

Figure 151 - IMGP1495 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay, Hang Dao Go Limestone flowing down the side of the cave walls.

Figure 152 - IMGP1496 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay, Hang Dao Go Again shooting up toward an opening to the outside showing the sun's late afternoon rays coming through the cave dust and humidity. IMGP1497.MOV IMGP1497 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay, Hang Dao Go Video taken from inside the cave.

Figure 153 - IMGP1498 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay, Hang Dao Go At cave exit looking down ridge line that forms the island.

Figure 154 - IMGP1499 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay, Hang Dao Go On a trail shooting through some plants, across the bay, to the ridge opposite side of the island. Flowers are for my mom.

Figure 155 - IMGP1500 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay, Hang Dao Go Same thing. Hope you like the flowers Mom.

Figure 156 - IMGP1501 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay, Hang Dao Go And another. Enjoy!

Figure 157 - IMGP1502 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay More islands from the bow of the boat.

Figure 158 - IMGP1503 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay

A closer view of some of the islands.

Figure 159 - IMGP1504 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay And they just keep cropping up... IMGP1505.MOV IMGP1505 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay Video taken at full zoom of the karsts and the floating villages in their shadows. IMGP1506.MOV IMGP1506 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay This video shows some of the fish they caught. At first I asked if I could touch them or put my hand in and touch them. No one spoke English so I had to play a little Pictionary. Misunderstanding my pantomime for an attempt to actually do it, they became a bit animated. They proceeded to show me how that would work out. This video shows a fairly tame response as compared to what happened when they first put a shrimp on the end of this rope and dipped it in.

IMGP1507.MOV IMGP1508.MOV IMGP1507 & 8 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay These videos show a pretty exotic fish. Not sure if it is naturally this way or it mutated due to pollution. IMGP1509.MOV IMGP1509 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay Just some crabs I videoed for my brother and his girlfriend. I should note that the people who are showing us this catch live out here on the water. They have everything they need out here and rarely go to shore. They trade with each other and other boats that come out this way.

Figure 160 - IMGP1513 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay Turns out this particular island is famous. It looks small from here but it is at least four or five stories tall.

Figure 161 - IMGP1518 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay This is the two guys who originally chartered the boat along with the captain on the right.

Figure 162 - IMGP1519 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay I think the captain was trying to tell me this was called the island of kissing bears. However, since neither of us could speak each other's language, perhaps I am just making this up.

Figure 163 - IMGP1520 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay More islands.

Figure 164 - IMGP1522 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay Close-up reveals some large, crane type birds.

Figure 165 - IMGP1523 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay More islands and sun...

Figure 166 - IMGP1524 Monday, 11 May 2009 Halong Bay More islands and sun...

Figure 167 - IMGP1529 Monday, 11 May 2009 Bai Chay This nice new suspension bridge connects the town of Bai Chay on the West side of Halong City to the strip mine town on the East side town of Hon Gai. Until just a year or two ago these two towns were only connected by ferry boat. These ferry boats are still very common all over Vietnam.

Figure 168 - IMGP1530 Monday, 11 May 2009 Bai Chay Once back to land I went up to my hotel. I chose to stay at the Thanh Hue Hotel at the top of the hill. It had air conditioning, hot water, a TV, and a spectacular view of the town and the bay for US$10/night. While I think the view was the best in town, prices were kept down by the fact that this was at the top of the hill past the main tourist Mecca and the fact that the area was a bit overbuilt, over-anticipating the demand for hotel rooms. This is a view straight down from my room window.

Figure 169 - IMGP1531 Monday, 11 May 2009 Bai Chay

A view towards the tourist area (West)...

Figure 170 - IMGP1532 Monday, 11 May 2009 Bai Chay Another view below my room... I was curious as to just how many floors the hotel had and what was on each. It seemed that all the guests had to go up from the bottom floor but the stairwell (no elevators) also went down from the lobby. Through hand signals I asked if I could see what was downstairs. A teenager ushered me down to several other rooms that seemed to house some older women; I assume family or other locals. He then motioned for me to come over to a ping pong table. We picked up paddles and played ping pong with a dented ball for about a half hour. He was pretty good. Good fun!

Figure 171 - IMGP1533 Monday, 11 May 2009 Bai Chay A view of the town toward the bridge (East)...

Figure 172 - IMGP1534 Monday, 11 May 2009 Bai Chay A view out toward the limestone karsts in the bay (South)...

Figure 173 - IMGP1536 Monday, 11 May 2009 Bai Chay Another view out toward the limestone karsts in the bay (South)...

Figure 174 - IMGP1537 Monday, 11 May 2009 Bai Chay Another view out toward the limestone karsts in the bay (South)...

Figure 175 - IMGP1538 Monday, 11 May 2009 Bai Chay Another view out toward the limestone karsts in the bay (South)...

Figure 176 - IMGP1540 Monday, 11 May 2009 Bai Chay I took a walk from the hotel down to the town markets. While this sight was a little surprising, it was nice to know I was in a "locals" neighborhood.

Figure 177 - IMGP1541 Monday, 11 May 2009 Bai Chay

These are some common fruit that grows all over Vietnam. It has kind of a grapefruit texture but much more mild.

Figure 178 - IMGP1542 Monday, 11 May 2009 Bai Chay Apparently, the Vietnamese also celebrate Mother's day. I took this photo and emailed it to my Mom as I could not see her in person. The Vietnamese are very creative and put together some amazing arrangements.

Figure 179 - IMGP1543 Monday, 11 May 2009 Bai Chay There was a little indoor/outdoor restaurant next door to the hotel where many of the locals ate. Very authentic. Wood/charcoal fired stoves. No refrigeration. Often these displays were completely open but this one had three sides and a top. The plate of things next to the eggs that look like fries are fried chickens' feet. The eggs next to them are hard boiled. Sometimes these are hard boiled the conventional way but other times, they are created as a bit of a rural delicacy.

Figure 180 - IMGP1545 Monday, 11 May 2009 Bai Chay They fry chicken a little differently there. Somehow they kill the chicken without removing the head. They remove the feathers and the guts. Then they go into the hot oil, beak and all. So here they sit, completely intact, just looking at you. They serve the chicken a little different. A to-go order was prepared by pulling a leg off, putting it on the table, and slicing it across and through the bone with a heavy meat cleaver. Chicken that fell on the never-washed floor got dipped in the noodle pot a few times, then served. The customer that watched this, a very attractive young woman, was quite pleased with the care her chicken had received.

Figure 181 - IMGP1547 Tuesday, 12 May 2009 Bai Chay

This is the shower in the hotel bathroom. Seldom is the shower separated in any way from the rest of the bathroom. The floor is the same as the shower floor. This one is kind of nice in that there is a curtain that stretches across the room separating the door and the toilet from the shower/sink area.

Figure 182 - IMGP1548 Tuesday, 12 May 2009 Bai Chay This was my improvised Western breakfast. The previous day I picked up some "sweets" from a local bakery. The sweets there are quite bland in comparison to our standard for pastries and deserts. The setup on the left is the traditional way that coffee is made. It is quite strong. Similar to Arabic coffee. The water is poured into the silver "pot" on top where it slowly drains through the coffee into the small cup below. The small cup is placed inside of a larger cup with some water in it so that the small cup is cooled as the coffee fills it.

Figure 183 - IMGP1550 Tuesday, 12 May 2009 returning to Hanoi This is another example of how the dump trucks are loaded past full, the excess falling off in transit.

Back in Hanoi

Figure 184 - IMGP1551 Tuesday, 12 May 2009 Hanoi This is the shop I picked up and returned the bike to. This is part of the French eco-tour company Compagnie Bourlinque but is about five blocks away from the cafe/office.

Figure 185- IMGP1552 Tuesday, 12 May 2009 Hanoi This is the Compagnie Bourlinque (AKA: freewheelintours.com) cafe/office.

Figure 186 - IMGP1553 Tuesday, 12 May 2009 Hanoi A shop for everything. This was for my brother Eric who terrorized the feet of his family for years with these little bits.

Figure 187 - IMGP1554 Tuesday, 12 May 2009 Hanoi

My ticket was about half the cost of the more reputable domestic airline but it also had half of the reliability. While we were delayed I stepped outside to get some air. The sunset and cloud formations were spectacular.

Figure 188 - IMGP1555 Tuesday, 12 May 2009 Hanoi Another shot from the Hanoi airport.

Figure 189 - IMGP1556 Tuesday, 12 May 2009 Hanoi

Yet another shot from the Hanoi airport.

Figure 190 - IMGP1557 Tuesday, 12 May 2009 Hanoi

One more shot from the Hanoi airport.