It's Hot...it Even Smells Hot!

Hanoi, Vietnam

June 8, 2007
N 21°01.811
E 105°51.082

We’re back in the Northern Hemisphere where it is summer and the days are longer, so when we awoke to sunlight streaming in our window we thought for sure it was around 9:00 AM. We were wrong—it was only 7:00 AM. Since we traveled from Sydney, where’s it’s late fall, and three hours ahead of Vietnam we were slightly out of whack.

We opened the blinds to see what our neighborhood looked like in the daytime. As I stood looking out the window a small waft of air came through the window frame. I turned to Marc and said…“It just smells hot out there.”

We got dressed and headed out just in time to catch Bob and Teddy making their way down the stairwell. We all had the same mission: Coffee. We felt a slight breeze as we stepped into the moist morning air of Hanoi. We were encouraged. Maybe it won’t be as hot as we think.

We found a café on the third floor of a building just across from Hoan Kiem Lake. We had a perfect view of the lake and sea of mopeds as they zipped through the busy morning streets. The strong coffee quickly woke us up and ignited our desire to start exploring the city.

After wandering around the lake for awhile we decided to follow the Lonely Planet walking tour of Hanoi. The tour led us down alleys of Hanoi we would have never found regardless of how much we walked. Each street and alley had a different purpose in terms of the goods being offered. Some streets were dedicated to tin boxes, woks, or mirrors, while other alleys were devoted to shoes, jewelry, herbs, or even leather and PVC.

As we casually meandered down the alleys we constantly did our best to avoid the scooters and their incessant beeeeeep, beep, beeeeping! They were everywhere—in the streets, on the sidewalks, in front of doorways—everywhere. Plus, it appears the traffic rules, including the lights, don’t apply to scooters. We tried crossing at one of the rare crosswalks when the little flashing green man told us to; however, the swarm of scooters was so thick we didn’t even make an attempt. Then, since hundreds of scooters are parked on the sidewalks, the pedestrians must walk in the streets, only adding to the confusion, congestion and cacophony of beeping and honking.

Half way through our walking tour, right around lunch time, we stopped at a café near the tin and mirror shops for a light snack and to re-hydrate. The temperature was around 95F in the shade with about 80% humidity—re-hydration was essential at this point.

After our break the street vendors were out in force, becoming more aggressive as the afternoon progressed. Many women selling fruit ambled through the traffic carrying their produce with a contraption resembling an old fashioned scale—it was a long piece of bamboo with a basket hanging from each end. The women balanced the bamboo on one shoulder with equal amounts of fruits in each basket. On a few occasions, after politely refusing the fruit, the women would put the bamboo on my shoulder, quickly place their straw hat on my head and encourage Marc to take a picture. They were so fast with this maneuver it caught me off guard the first time, but now that I know their trick I won’t let it happen again. (Sorry, I discouraged Marc from taking the picture.)

The heat continued to increase throughout the day and our hope for a “not too hot” day was officially dismissed when the temperature peaked at over 100F in the shade at 5:00 PM. It was a perfect time to duck into one of the local watering holes for a cold draught and reminisce about the good ol’ days of Torres del Paine.

Australia Wrap-Up

Australia Wrap-Up

Summary

We knew we didn’t plan enough time in Australia—only two weeks for a country nearly as large as the United States, but we figured Australia is a country we can go back to at any point of our lives and explore thoroughly. We weren’t even going to try to cram too much stuff into the two weeks; instead we focused on Sydney and a quick trip up North to see the Great Barrier Reef.

Our experience in Sydney was different than any of our other locations to date. We were able to connect with Elise (Marc’s step-sister) and her two friends that live in Sydney. From the moment we arrived we saw the city from the locals’ perspective instead of the tourist. Don’t worry we did scout out several of the tourist spots to make sure we didn’t miss anything during our time in Sydney.

It didn’t take long to fall in love with a city that feels a lot like our own city, San Francisco. The water views, the Harbor Bridge and the runners enjoying the great weather and waterfront paths made me feel right at home after being gone for a few months.

We probably won’t pack our bags and move to Sydney (even though I wouldn’t mind), but we will plan another vacation in the near future.

Our quick trip to the Great Barrier Reef was incredible. We stayed in Port Douglas which is a small fishing village that is growing quickly. Four-Mile beach is walking distance from most hotels in the area and the food in the town was tasty. Also, the tour boat departs directly from Port Douglas taking tourists out to snorkel or dive the reef. If you snorkel, make sure you get on a boat that specializes in snorkeling.

Overall, we weren’t sure what to expect during our short time in Australia, but the time spent exceeded expectations. Part of this was due to hanging with the locals (Milo and Beno), but mostly it was the pure beauty of the country—at least the tiny piece we saw.

Top Sites in Australia

1. Great Barrier Reef—Port Douglas, Queensland is doing everything possible to preserve the reef. You can’t always fight Mother Nature, but I guess we can fight Global Climate Change. We did notice damage to the coral from a typhoon over the winter. I am glad we saw the reef now instead of during our next trip. Who knows, maybe we will see it then too.
2. Sydney Botanical Gardens—we walked through the Botanical Gardens at least three times and followed a different path each time. On each trip we saw something we hadn’t seen on the previous trips. The Gardens border the harbor providing wonderful views out to the water and is a perfect spot for a picnic. I can’t forget the thousands of fruit bats that live in the trees. They sleep during the day, hanging upside down, and then explore the city from dusk to dawn. They’re very creepy yet fun to watch knowing they won’t harm you.
3. Manly—the town of Manly has the best of both worlds—the Sydney Harbor and the Tasman Sea. A short ferry ride from the ferry terminal gets you away from the hustle and bustle of Sydney and into nature. The Sydney Harbor National Park, located in Manly, several walking trails provide spectacular views of the harbor and the Tasman Sea. This is a great place to come and relax on the beach and dip your toes into the Tasman Sea.
4. Sydney Opera House—almost everyone has seen the Opera House in pictures, but to see it up close and personal is amazing. The sun illuminates the copper colored roof at certain parts of the day making it a perfect photo opportunity. Also, head over the Sydney Harbor Bridge near dusk, look across the harbor and capture the Sydney skyline with the silhouetted Opera House.
5. Harbor Bridge—take a walk across the bridge to experience the city views. It’s possible to walk on the ridge of the bridge for a $100 or so, but the free tour, similar to the Golden Gate, is plenty unless you are a thrill-seeker looking for a rush.

Top Meals in Australia (in chronological order of visit)

1. Bill’s—Darlinghurst, New South Wales. Bill is a renowned chef frequently featured in Bon Appetite and Gourmet Magazines. Many people consider Bill’s Restaurant a must-do when in Sydney. We felt the food was good, but nothing memorable. The night we were there the restaurant was fairly empty. I am afraid a recent remodel (and subsequent price hikes) drove away a lot of the local regulars.
2. Port O’Call Restaurant—Port Douglas, Queensland. This restaurant is connected to a clean backpacker hotel. The restaurant attracts more locals than those actually staying in the lodge. There is a nightly special that varies from Kangaroo tenderloins to Beef Salad. They have a stir fry of the day too. The hamburger is descent, but tastes like a riesel (Australian version of the meat ball). The prices are as reasonable as they can get in Port Douglas.

Note: Sydney is a very expensive city especially when the US Dollar is so weak. This prevented us from trying a lot of the great food Sydney is known for.

Best Lodging

Note: These are places we personally stayed. All prices are estimates at the time of our visit and are displayed in USD.

1. Sydney Travelodge—this is a great location at a fantastic price. It is located a block from Hyde Park and within walking distance of the business district. Shop around a little on the internet to get the best price. (Approximately: $80 USD)
2. Sydney Marriott. If you want to splurge, this is the place to go. The rooms overlook Hyde Park on one side and the city to Bonsi Junction on the other. The rooftop pool is a great place to take a dip on a warm day. (Approximately: $200 USD)

Miscellaneous Items

If you plan on being in Sydney for seven days, purchase the weekly transportation pass. It is good on all trains, buses and ferries. If you plan on seeing sights such as Manly or the Olympic Stadium, get the green pass so you don’t have to pay extra for these rides. If you plan on staying within the City Center, then the red pass is enough for you. The pass will definitely save you time and money.

If your itinerary includes a trip to the Great Barrier Reef and you plan to snorkel, save yourself a little money by going on a boat that specializes in snorkeling. The dive boats cater to divers, making the price for snorklers a little more than necessary.

Travel Day Turns to Scooter Madness...

Hanoi, Vietnam

June 7, 2007
N 21°01.811
E 105°51.082

The rain started coming down in Sydney as soon as we arrived at the airport. Somehow we had perfect weather the entire time we were in Australia, in Sydney and Cairns, until we departed. Lightening shut-down the airport for 45 minutes before our flight, we thought something was trying to tell us to stay, but the storm moved through and our flight went off without a hitch.

As our plane was in the air, headed towards Bangkok, for our nine hour flight, we had plenty of time to reflect on our trip thus far. The trip has been pretty easy up until this point, but we are able to mix into our surroundings—blend in with the crowds in the larger cities.

In South America we blended in with the locals a little more, only standing out when Marc continued to repeat “No Gracias” when the real answer was far different. Also, we were able to read the language and communicate on a daily basis with the locals. Some of the tourist cities are just that, tourist cities, so of course people assumed we were tourists.

The tide will turn in Southeast Asia where we stand out physically, and at the same time we don’t speak any of the language except for “hello”, “chicken”, “beef”, “soup” and “sandwich”. At least we won’t go hungry.

We expect the next few months to be challenging, but that’s what makes it fun. It’s rewarding when you’re able to figure-out how different societies, cultures and cities function; everything from public-transit, banking, telecommunications, food, etiquette, and of course hygiene.

It was dark when we landed in Vietnam. After getting through customs we were happy to find a taxi driver holding a sign with our names on it. Perfect… a free ride to the city and hopefully to our hotel. The traffic during the evening commute into Hanoi was exciting to say the least.

Scooters, carrying 2-3 people, outnumbered cars by at least 5 to 1. There were swarms of scooters swerving in and out of traffic, attempting to keep left and stay out of the way of honking cars. It was controlled chaos. Cars were straddling two lanes to get by the motor bikes. As the road narrowed to two lanes, headlights coming straight at us had to dodge the bikes and the head-on traffic. Scooters were using the shoulder to go around, against and across the stream of traffic. All the while women walked along the street with surgical masks or bandanas and light blue uniforms, it looked like they just finished their shift at the local clothing factory, barely noticing the honking horns and near collisions.

As we got closer to the city the swarm of scooters became denser. Teenagers were cruising on their mopeds, only slowing to talk with each other, laughing, and of course using their cell phones. There were 2-3 teenagers on each bike, girls and boys—none wearing helmets. Talk about a parent’s worst nightmare. Taxis and cars relied on their horns, seemingly herding the scooters out of their way.

Pedestrians were an afterthought and appeared to be on the bottom of the traffic food-chain. Without stop signs or crosswalks people dashed across the streets as scooters and cars nipped at their ankles. It was like a river… flowing through the streets, everyone working together, no anger or road-rage, just simple acceptance of the seeming chaos.

We will see how controlled the madness really is as we head out exploring tomorrow. The experience is always different when you have the protection of metal all around you—it will be different as pedestrians!

Good-Bye to the Ozzies...

Sydney, Australia

June 6, 2007
S 33°51.438
E 151°12.910

Today was our last day in Sydney and we tried to make the best of it. For the first time on our trip we’re leaving a place when we aren’t ready. We knew we wouldn’t have enough time in Australia, but figured it’s one of those countries you can come to and enjoy regardless of age.

We hit some of the places we’ve come to enjoy over the past few weeks including the little pub that makes breakfast sandwiches with bacon, egg and tomato. After our tasty sandwich, we visited the Sydney museum which has some excellent exhibits on the native Australian people, the Aborigines, and a National Geographic photo display of the Australian countryside. We lost ourselves in the history and truly enjoyed our time.

After the museum we took a final walk through the Botanical Gardens, down by the Sydney Opera House and then headed to Darling Harbor. The sun was shining during our walk, but the weather was a little cooler than it has been during our time here.

We made our way back to our posh room at the Marriott (thanks to some gift cards we had) to pack-up before our final evening in Sydney. We’re heading out with the gang—Elise, Ben and Myles—for our final dinner and of course a few drinks.

We definitely have fond memories of Sydney and Australia as a whole. We don’t know when we’ll be back; however, we do believe another trip to Australia is in our future. There are plenty of sites to see and a lot of land ripe for exploring.

Finding Nemo...

Port Douglas/Great Barrier Reef, Australia

June 4, 2007

S 16°29.234

E 145°28.099

It was 5:00AM when I suddenly sat-up in bed, frightened. I checked my surroundings and realized I was in a safe place and Marc was sleeping soundly next to me. I was dreaming… dreaming we had been left at the Great Barrier Reef. We were floating all alone in the Tasman Sea… the large catamaran had left us… all the other snorkelers and SCUBA divers were gone. It was silent, just the two of us floating in the middle of the sea… no landmarks, just overcast, dark gray, sky and water. I have to thank my Mom for reminding me about the movie, based on a true story, where two American divers were left and never found at the Great Barrier Reef. I never fell back asleep.

The Silver Sonic is a medium sized catamaran that transports roughly 150 divers and snorkelers out to the edge of the Great Barrier Reef every day. We opted to take the “smaller” catamaran since it makes three stops along the reef. As opposed to a tour that transports nearly 300 people and only makes a single stop at a very commercial deck along the reef.

At our first stop we quickly jumped off the boat into the 70F degree water fully outfitted with snorkel, fins and mask. Floating just a meter above of a massive underground jungle of coral in every shape, size and color we did our best to not touch the living organism for two reasons—to make sure we don’t harm or damage it and to protect ourselves from the jagged sharp edges.

As we drifted above the lime green, purple, orange, and pink coral we stayed as still as possible to observe the thousands of fish peeking out from behind the safety of the coral. The fish swam through the labyrinth of coral shaped like jacks, mushrooms, ferns and out-of-control weeds sprouting from the bottom of the ocean floor.

The views were surreal… remember the submarine voyage at Disneyland and then multiply it thousand times. We felt like voyeurs, looking through our small windows, spotting all kinds of sea life including parrot fish, blue seastars, giant clams large enough to swallow a person and numerous other fish of every size and color. We saw schools of small, blue fish floating near the top while there was a school of tan fish feasting off of the coral below us.

There were moments where there appeared to be nothing within our view, however when we remained still and focused on a single point it was astonishing to see all types of life moving in front of us; beautifully camouflaged among the natural surroundings.

We swam around the reef for approximately forty minutes before we started to get a little chilly. We swam back to the boat, knowing we still had two more stops, and plenty of time to explore. After the crew did a complete passenger count, making sure not to leave anyone, we made our way to the next site.

The second site was the highlight of the afternoon. The sun was shinning, providing additional light to show off the colors of the reef. The crew of the boat did a fish feeding before we jumped into the water, attracting a bunch of hungry reef sharks looking for a free snack. Luckily, the sharks didn’t hang around for too long, and we hopped into the water.

As we explored the second site we found a large group of clown fish, adults and babies, hiding comfortably within the tentacles of their favorite anemone. All of the Nemos, with their orange, black and white bodies, looked like they were straight out of the movie “Finding Nemo.” Luckily, we didn’t see any mean sharks come and try to hurt them—not even the reef sharks.

We left the clown fish and continued to take in the sights from the underwater jungle. We saw several eels lounging around the deeper parts of the sea, dozens of different anemones, providing protection to the fish from predators. One of the anemones, long, slender and black looked like a bouquet of feathers trying to tickle the fish swimming by.

When we arrived at the third site the snorkel leader announced she was conducting a small tour. Spending almost every day out at the reef, she was able to dive down to the sandy floor below the coral and bring back samples to the surface for us to see up-close. For example, a mushroom anemone with thin, straw colored tentacles and a piece of coral with a slick, prickly surface which protects it from ultraviolet rays.

We could definitely see there had been damage to the coral from hundreds of thousands of visitors a year and the intense storms that have swept through the area over the past few years. Australia is doing everything possible to ensure the reef is preserved for future generations by educating tourists and charging a $5 reef tax for every passenger—putting the money back into the reef. Hopefully their efforts pay off and we can visit Port Douglas and the Great Barrier Reef in another 15-20 years!

Overall, the day was everything we imagined, the colors were beautiful, not as vibrant as we expected, but there was a rainbow of color underwater between the coral, anemones, fish and other sea life. Our imagination is probably a little tainted since the only examples of the reef we’ve seen have been in National Geographic and Finding Nemo. However, this was definitely the best snorkeling we have ever done.

Tips: There are a few things we learned during and after our trip that we may do differently next time. The catamaran we took, Silver Sonic, caters mostly to divers and charges a little more. Look for a snorkelers only boat like Wavelength where guided snorkel tours are included in the price. Wavelength was one of the first snorkel boats in Port Douglas and has access to 22 sites, whereas Silver Sonic only has access to five sites.

Make sure you spend the $5 to rent a stinger suit. The suit not only protects you from jellyfish, which are very rare, but it provides an extra layer of warmth allowing you more time in the water. We didn’t think the suit was necessary; however, since you are spending three hours in the water it gets a little chilly.

And of course, if you have any questions just ask a local like the friendly bartender Dazzle from Port O’Call Café who provided these tips free of charge.

She's Only Happy in the Sun...

Port Douglas, Australia

June 2, 2007
S 16°29.234
E 145°28.099

After a full week in the same city it was time to move onto a new adventure. We enjoyed all seven nights, not just waking up in the same place, but Sydney overall is a gorgeous city; a must see for any traveler. Of course big, beautiful cities come with a big price; however, Sydney is worth blowing the budget for a few days.

Since it was our last Friday night in Sydney, we had a late night for us and rolled into our hotel lobby around midnight after drinks with Ben, Myles and Elise (aka Turtle). The original plan was to have dinner and maybe a beer or two. However, after three beers at their apartment, another round at a nearby pub in Surry Hills, yet another schooner along our path looking for food, and one more round at a swanky underground wine bar, we finally gave up on the idea of food and called it a night. Thank goodness Myles and Ben had to work on Saturday morning or we may have been grabbing a cab to the airport straight from the pubs since our flight was at 7:00 AM.

We tracked the weather in Cairns since our arrival in Sydney and it had been raining nearly every day. Expecting to arrive to warm showers and high humidity; we arrived to high humidity and sun breaks—perfect. When we walked out of the airport, with the mountainous rainforest in the distance, the weather reminded us of Hawaii and Fiji.

As we headed north, with the water to our right and rainforests to our left, we kept our eyes peeled for some of the creatures Australia is known for—crocodiles and kangaroos. We did spot a kangaroo in the middle of a horse pasture, but no luck on the crocodile—I think I am fine with that!

Port Douglas is about an hour from the airport and a hot-spot for celebrities and vacationing Ozzies. In fact, an open audition for 18-40 year-old men was taking place in town for a Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg movie. I told Marc to give it a shot since he came in right under the maximum age. He decided to keep his hidden acting talent under wraps for awhile longer; we’d rather die than live in LA or Hollywood anyway.

Acting career behind us, we took a short stroll down to Four Mile Beach. Unfortunately, due to strange weather conditions (i.e. Global Warming), stinging jellyfish, which are normally not a problem this time of the year, were still lingering along the shoreline. This made it unsafe to swim outside of a safety net strategically placed along part of the beach. The stingers, or jellyfish, in this part of the world shoot venom into their victims and are taken very seriously—we adhered to all of the warnings.

The weather was a perfect 27C (84F) and the water in the Tasman was 23C (76F). We relaxed on the beach, soaked up the sun, dipped our feet in the Tasman and read our latest books. It was a perfect way to spend our first day in Port Douglas and a good way to work on a base-tan before cooking ourselves in the Vietnam sun next week.

Just an Easy Day...

Sydney, Australia

June 1, 2007
S 33°51.438
E 151°12.910

Our trip back to the Vietnamese Consulate to pick up our passports and visas wasn’t nearly as exciting as our trip there. Since we now knew how to get to the consulate the whole trip took maybe one hour; leaving the rest of the afternoon to explore a different part of Sydney.

A large map hanging in the hotel lobby showed a big park just north of Darling Harbor. We decided to wander across the city and check it out since all of the parks have been impressive.

First, we opted to make a quick detour to the Sydney Seafood Market, and take in the views of the ANZAC bridge up close. We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to sample several fresh slices of salmon and tuna sashimi (for only $5 USD) before heading to Wentworth Park.

The park ended up being more of a playing field for soccer and rugby then a public garden. Slightly disappointed, we headed back to Darling Harbor to grab a beer, relax in the sun, and write out a few postcards.

We’re still very impressed with Sydney but we’re now looking forward to our trip to the Great Barrier Reef tomorrow.